S Gopal Puri
Chamba: In a major step to assist the relatives of those stranded during the ongoing Manimahesh Yatra, the Himachal Pradesh Police on Thursday announced the creation of an emergency WhatsApp group.
The official link to join the group has been made available on the verified social media handles of the Himachal Pradesh Police.
According to officials, the group is being updated every half an hour by the Police Control Room with the names and addresses of pilgrims who have been successfully rescued. The move is aimed at ensuring timely and authentic communication with family members, especially in the wake of disrupted telecommunication services in the Bharmour region.
Heavy rainfall and multiple landslides have left over 3,000 devotees stranded along the pilgrimage route.
Rescue operations are being jointly carried out by the NDRF, SDRF and district police teams. As per the lists shared till late Thursday (August 28, 2025) night, thousands of pilgrims from Himachal Pradesh and other states, including Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana and West Bengal, have already been rescued and shifted to safer locations in Bharmour.
Police officials said that power supply and telecommunication services remain disrupted in Bharmour, making ground-level communication difficult. The WhatsApp group, they emphasised, is currently the most reliable channel for real-time updates and people have been urged not to believe or circulate rumors regarding the situation.
Official Helpline Numbers
For any information regarding relatives or acquaintances stranded during the pilgrimage, the public can contact:
- Police Control Room (Landline): 01899-225899
- Mobile Helpline: 94188-67360
The police assured that all possible efforts are being made to ensure the safety of devotees and restore normalcy in the affected region.
The Manimahesh Yatra, dedicated to Lord Shiva and held annually in Chamba district, attracts thousands of pilgrims from across India. This year’s pilgrimage has been severely impacted by extreme weather conditions, testing both the resilience of the devotees and the preparedness of the authorities.
