The Congress-led State Government is making efforts to resume the Char Dham Yatra by September 30 to stop people from migrating in search of means of livelihood, a likely scenario after the disaster. That is the official reason the Government gives for efforts to resume the yatra. Sources, however, claimed that the move to restore the yatra before or by September 30 has a political reason also.
Sources said, “The Congress-led Government is in a hurry to resume the Yatra as it feels that main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may use the issue of Kedarnath Temple during the forthcoming general election. It has been taking help from ASI, GSI and Army. Now, the ASI says that the temple belongs to the sixth century; then the question arises why it did not include the temple in the heritage list so far.”
For this, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member VK Duggal, who is considered close to the UPA Government and Congress party high command, has been camping in the State Secretariat. They convened a meeting with the World Bank and Asian Development Bank country heads Onno Ruhl and Hum Kin on Tuesday. Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna convened meetings with officials twice or thrice a day. It is an open secret that the BJP election campaign committee chairman and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who had visited the State to see the rescue operations and had interacted with the rescued people, had offered of the State Chief Minister that Gujarat Government would help re-open Kedarnath. CM Bahuguna, however, rejected the proposal, saying that the Uttarakhand Government would reopen the shrine from its own resources.
Sources said that Gujarat Government was the first State to send a huge amount of relief material (quantity and quality) for disaster-affected people in a systematic way. If sources are to be believed, the State Government is very apprehensive that BJP may rake up the issue during the upcoming general election, which is due in 2014.Among the total casualties reported in the disaster, maximum belong to four States, including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Delhi, which are suppose to face Assembly election in the last quarter of 2013.
As per the missing cell statistics, 820 persons are missing from Rajasthan, 504 from Delhi, 296 from Madhya Pradesh and 27 from Chhattisgarh. Sources further said that missing person belong to 19 states including Uttar Pradesh (2098), Maharashtra (213), Gujarat (120), Haryana (113), Andhra Pradesh (96), West Bengal (77), Bihar (63), Odisha (31), Punjab (26), Jharkhand (36), Tamil Nadu (14), Karnataka (14), Jammu & Kashmir (03) and Ponducherry.
Talking to the media, CM Bahuguna said, “The State Government would reopen Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri shrine by September 30. Meanwhile, we are also building base camp in Garudchatti so that we could be able to provide necessary things in Kedarnath. As Badrinath Kedarnath Temple committee (BKTC) and State Government want to resume prayers in Kedarnath, so we are putting all efforts to restore infrastructure in Kedarnath. For this, the Army, ITBP, NDRF, DGBR, Police and PWD are making intensive efforts.”