Paikamal: Forest officials with the help of fire brigade personnel and a few volunteers Tuesday rescued two youths who had gone missing in Gandhamardan hill Sunday.
The two were identified as Nitesh Deshmukh (26) of Khariar Road in Nuapada and his friend Gopal Pasayat (26) of Sareipali in Chhattisgarh.
The duo lost their route after having a darshan of Lord Nrusinghnath and had to survive on amla and dew drops inside dense forests, it was learnt.
According to reports, Nitesh and Gopal went to Kapila Dhara on a bike. They parked the bike on the foot hills and climbed up the hill. However, they lost their way on their return. In the absence of a mobile network, the youths couldn’t contact any one. Left with no option, they had to spend the night inside the forest.
“We burnt some dry wood under a tree to keep wild animals at bay,” said one of them.
Nitesh Monday morning managed to get network connection after climbing up a tree and contacted family members. On being alerted by the family, some local volunteers with the help of forest officials and fire brigade personnel launched a search operation in the forest but failed to trace the duo.
The youths collected some amla to satiate their hunger with no other edible stuff in sight. They also collected dew drops from the leaves to drink so that they remain hydrated, said Nitesh.
As that was not enough for their survival, they started shouting loudly. Two strangers suddenly appeared on the scene after hearing their scream and offered them water. They also took the two to a better place and offered them rice and curry.
“Though we tried to know about them, they were reluctant to disclose details. We think they must be collectors of herbs and roots but for us they were sent to us by Lord Nrusinghanath,” Nitesh said narrating his extraordinary experience.
The strangers left Nitesh and Gopal near Kapila Dhara Tuesday morning following which the volunteers rescued them and took to a hospital for a health check up. PNN