Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday said helicopter services to Kedarnath will resume on Wednesday and pilgrims will be given a 25 per cent concession on the fare.
He conducted an aerial inspection of the rain-ravaged Kedarnath trek route and reviewed the relief and rescue operation carried out over the past few days.
The focus now is on restarting the pilgrimage to the Himalayan shrine by road at the earliest, the chief minister told reporters in Rampur.
"The damage is largescale. The route has been breached at 29 places by landslides. Water and power supply lines have been hit and telecommunication disrupted," Dhami said.
"A collective effort by the disaster management department, the district administration, the SDRF, NDRF, the priest community and public representatives helped in the rescue of such a large number of people," he said.
The chief minister also expressed his gratitude to the Centre, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for his support and for sending the IAF's Chinook and MI17 helicopters to the state at his request to aid in the rescue efforts.
"The rescue work is almost over and the entire focus now is on how to restart the yatra at the earliest by repairing the damaged infrastructure en route to the Himalayan temple," Dhami said.
He instructed officials to take the help and suggestions of locals in restarting the pilgrimage to the Himalayan shrine by road.
Heavy rain on July 31 triggered a number of landslides along the Kedarnath trek route, leaving thousands of pilgrims stranded in Kedarnath, Gaurikund, Lincholi and Bhimbali.
The state government suspended the pilgrimage on August 1 until the road was restored for traffic. The ensuing rescue operation led to the safe evacuation of more than 11,000 people from the trek route in six days.
An alternate route for the pilgrims needs to be readied and some new helipads may also have to be built, Dhami said.
"However helicopter service to Kedarnath is starting tomorrow. The pilgrims who want to visit the temple by helicopter will get a 25 per cent rebate on their tickets," he said.
The chief minister interacted with locals and thanked them for their help in the rescue operations. He also listened to their problems and assured them that those would be addressed soon.
