For eight years, Hemant Mali, a seasoned tour operator from Baroda, has guided thousands of pilgrims through the Char Dham pilgrimage in Uttarakhand. This year, for the first time, he brought his parents along for the yatra, fulfilling their long-held wish.
However, on Wednesday morning, as Kedarnath temple gates were opened for the first time this season, his 78-year-old father, Dilip Mali, collapsed near the shrine and thus began his ordeal, which Mr. Hemant says is far from over.
The tour operator said he called the official helpline for medical assistance for his father, but none arrived.
After waiting for nearly an hour, he carried his father on a pony to a temporary hospital set up for pilgrims. But doctors there declared Dilip dead on arrival. “The Chief Minister [Pushkar Singh Dhami] was at Kedarnath when my father collapsed. He saw the body and left after making assurances,” Mr. Hemant said over the phone. “I kept requesting the administration to arrange a helicopter to take my father’s body home, but they kept me waiting.”
After several hours, he was told that helicopter services were not operational due to the lack of safety clearance. “I asked them how had the CM arrived. But they had no clear answers. There was utter mismanagement.”
