By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
The Uttarakhand government on Thursday claimed that there was a temporary suspension of helicopter services at Kedarnath which led to the delay in sending the body of a Gujarati pilgrim back home.
The death of Dilip Bhai Mannu Mali (69) in Kedarnath area in Uttarakhand on Wednesday has caused a controversy with a section of media claiming that there was an inordinate delay on the part of the state government to send the body back home.
On the other hand, the government on Thursday clarified that the administration provided all possible facilities including a helicopter for sending the body of Mali to Gujarat.
Mali died apparently due to heart attack in Kedarnath 1-2 hours before the portals of the shrine were reopened on Wednesday morning.
In these reports, the deceased’s son Hemant alleged that the district authorities were not listening to his pleas of sending the body of his father to Gujarat. As the videos went viral, the government came into action and arranged a helicopter to send the body to the foothills of Kedarnath.
Narrating the incident, a national daily claimed that Mali collapsed at Kedarnath area in the morning. Hemant called the official helpline for medical assistance but he did not get any response, the newspaper claimed. After waiting for an hour, he took his father on a pony to a temporary hospital where doctors declared him dead.
Hemant further claimed that he pleaded with the district authorities for arranging a helicopter to take the body back to his native place Vadodra. But after some hours, the government arranged a helicopter in the afternoon to send the body to Jamu helipad on the foothills of Kedarnath. “At that time, the helicopter service was temporarily suspended. As soon as the service resumed, the administration immediately transported the body by helicopter to the Jamu Helipad, from where it was further sent to the district hospital, Rudraprayag, by an ambulance for necessary further formalities,” a state government statement claimed.
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand police has warned that strong action will be taken against all those people who try to publish and broadcast misleading reports on the Chardham yatra.