Lucknow: Grief gripped Gayatripuram colony in Lucknow on Thursday as the bodies of sisters Vartika Verma (28) and Deepika Verma (29) arrived at their residence after they died during a trek to Kedartal in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district, where the group was caught in heavy snowfall.
The bodies reached the family home under Gudamba police station limits around 10 am. Their father, Shree Narayan Verma, a retired agriculture department employee, broke down on seeing them, saying the sisters had always been inseparable. Their mother, Usha, and younger brother, Atul, were also inconsolable as relatives, neighbours and local residents gathered to pay their respects. Police and local volunteers helped manage the crowd as the mourning intensified through the morning.
More than 400 people joined the funeral procession, with residents describing the sisters as close-knit, family-oriented and known in the neighbourhood for frequently travelling together. The sisters left Lucknow on Oct 26 for the Kedartal expedition and began trekking from Gangotri on Oct 27 as part of a 12-member group comprising seven trekkers and five support staff, according to the family. The three-day trek was scheduled to conclude on Oct 29. The family said the group had covered about 20-25 km and had six to seven kilometres remaining when conditions worsened sharply.
Heavy snowfall and an avalanche reportedly blocked the return route, leaving the team stranded.