Nahan (HP), Mar 2 (PTI) A youth from Panchkula in Haryana, who went missing on Mahashivratri (Wednesday) while trekking the Churdhar peak in Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur district, is still untraceable.
The missing tourist will be traced out very soon and the rescue teams are searching for him in the Churdhar valley where he went missing on February 26, Industry Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan said on Sunday.
Talking to mediapersons, the minister said that bad weather (heavy rains and snow) wreaked havoc in many parts of the state and advised people to exercise caution not take risks like climbing the Churdhar peak.
As per the local residents of Noharadhar, despite very bad weather, three friends from Panchkula started trekking to the Churdhar peak from Nohradhar village on the morning of Mahashivratri. The track is about 100 km both ways.
Two friends succeeded in reaching the top in the evening but one of their companions Akshay Sahani (28), son of Anil Sahni, could not reach the Churdhar peak, they said.
DSP, Sangraha, Mukesh Dadwal said that a police team led by an SHO-level officer was sent to trace the missing youth but the team faced difficulties due to bad weather and there was five-to-seven-feet snow on the peak.
Heavy rain and snow in the area in the past few days have created hurdles in the search operation. He said that police conducted search operations up to the Jamuna Nala till Saturday evening.
SDM, Sangrah, Sunil Kayath said the administration has deputed a team of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) to search for the missing youth.
The district administration has issued an advisory not to climb the Churdhar peak from December till March-end but many people are taking risks to climb the peak, especially to make reels.
