Kedarnath yatra resumes after a fortnight

Dehradun, July 30:

yatra was resumed after a fortnight today with at least 35 pilgrims paying obeisance at the Himalayan shrine amid improvement in weather and road conditions. "With improvement in the weather and road conditions, yatra to Kedarnath has been resumed.

On the first day after resumption of the pilgrimage, nearly 35 devotees went to the high-altitude temple to offer prayers," Rudraprayag District Magistrate Raghav Langar told PTI over phone.

The weather and the condition of roads are fine as of now and the yatra is being conducted smoothly with NDRF and SDRF personnel keeping a close watch on the route which often gets blocked with debris from landslides coming on to it, he said.

Yatra to Kedarnath was suspended on July 16 after MeT department issued a warning of heavy rains in the area. Though it was briefly resumed for a few hours on July 27, it had to be suspended later the same day as a precautionary measure with MeT department issuing another warning of heavy showers.

However, yatra to Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri remained affected with roads leading to these shrines blocked at several places. Rishikesh-Gangotri highway is blocked at half-a-dozen places whereas the highway to Badrinath is blocked at Lambagad, a Disaster Management and Mitigantion Centre (DMMC) release said here. Rishikesh-Yamunotri highway also continues to be blocked at Wadiya.

Meanwhile, major rivers across the state have begun showing receding trend. Alaknanda in Rudraprayag district is flowing at 622.90 metres, which is well below the danger mark at 627 metres. Mandakini in the district is also flowing nearly four metres down the danger level.

Bhagirathi in Uttarkashi district is flowing more than two metres down the danger level but Ganga at Haridwar is still flowing close to the danger mark at 292.40 metres, the DMMC release said.

PTI