A Himalayan Tragedy

Iindian Air Force personnel rescuing stranded passengers from Reckong Peo in Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday. Kinnaur was among the worst affected areas due to recent floods in Himalayan region.

Kedarnath shrine, one of the holiest of Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva, and other buildings are seen damaged on Thursday following heavy rains and flood in Uttarakhand.

In this handout photograph released by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) on June 21, 2013, ITBP personnel aid flood evacuees across a raging river in Ghangaria following heavy rain in the region. Rescue workers recovered scores of bodies from the Ganges river in northern India on June 21, as the death toll from flash floods and landslides topped 200, with thousands of mainly pilgrims and tourists still stranded. Ghangaria is base for world famour valley of flowers and Hemkund gurudwara

Many such cities lie precariously on the course of himalayan rivers

Temple town of Kedarnath after being ravaged by the nature

Army personnel rescue pilgrims in flood-hit areas of Chamoli district.

Stranded people being rescued by Indian Air Force at Guptakashi near flood-hit Kedarnath in Uttarakhand on Thursday.

A child is rescued from Guptakashi by Indian Air Force near flood-hit Kedarnath in Uttarakhand on Thursday.

Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal interacting with pilgrims near flood-hit Kedarnath shrine in Rudraprayag on Thursday.

In this Thursday June 20, 2013, photo, a visitor takes photographs as bodies of pilgrims are seen lying in from of the Kedarnath shrine, one of the holiest of Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva at Kedarnath, in the northern Indian state of Uttrakhand.

A pilgrim is helped by a villager as she tries to cross on a pathway damaged by landslide in Rudraprayag in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand June 20, 2013.

A woman is helped by soldiers to climb down a hill during a rescue operation at Govindghat in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand June 21, 2013.