PTI NEW DELHI PRIME Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday directed the defence ministry to deploy helicopters to rescue people stranded in remote areas of Uttarakhand following flash floods and landslides.

The Prime Minister also assured Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna all possible help in dealing with the crisis.

“He has directed defence ministry to deploy helicopters to rescue people stranded in remote areas due to flash floods,” said a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Torrential rains led to flash floods, cloudbursts and landslides in the sub-Himalayan region, killing as many as 31 people and leaving thousands stranded on the Char Dham Yatra route that takes pilgrims to Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath.

Earlier leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday spoke to Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and urged him to evacuate pilgrims stranded in Uttarkashi region of Uttarakhand in the aftermath of flash floods there.

“I have just spoken to Home Minister Shri Sushil Kumar Shinde and requested him to requisition Army and Airforce helicopters and rescue the pilgrims immediately,” Swaraj said on popular microblogging site Twitter.

She said Shinde has assured her that he would do the needful at the earliest.

Swaraj said the Leader of Opposition in Uttrakhand Ajay Bhatt spoke to her about the need for emergency evacuation of pilgrims stranded in Uttarkashi and the India- China border road.

Flash floods in parts of Uttarakhand on Saturday had left several hundreds of pilgrims stranded at popular religious places of worship.

The pilgrims were trapped after the floods wiped out roads, cutting off 80 Uttarkashi villages from the rest of Uttarakhand.