Work is being undertaken on war footing to restore connectivity to the Kedarnath shrine in Rudraprayag district. A new Public Works Division has been formed at Guptkashi apart from which a proposal has been sent to the State Government for creating a Tehsil at Guptkashi specifically for ensuring better management of the Yatra to Kedarnath. The Kedarnath valley relief commissioner Dr BVRC Purushottam said this while talking to The Pioneer on Friday.
The relief commissioner informed that out of the required 27 tonnes of building material, about 12 tonnes has reached the site where a steel bridge is to be constructed across the Mandakini river en route to Kedarnath. The PWD has employed about 150 labourers for this and the task of opening an alternative route to the shrine.
“The PWD has opened a new division at Guptkashi headed by a superintending engineer level officer and comprising four assistant engineers and eight junior engineers among others. This development will help speed up departmental works in the region. Apart from this we have proposed to the State government that a new Tehsil be formed at Guptkashi specifically from the view point of managing the pilgrimage to Kedarnath,” he said.
Replying to whether the route to Kedarnath will be opened within the ongoing month, Purushottam said that this was a challenge which was being met by the agencies involved in the task.
It should be mentioned here that at present this pilgrimage is managed from Ukhimath Tehsil which is further from Kedarnath than Guptkashi. Creating a new Tehsil at Guptkashi would help improve the management and ensure swifter response in emergency situations. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) Dehradun has also offered to facilitate construction of a 30-bed hospital at Guptkashi.
It is pertinent to mention here that Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna had recently announced that regular worship would be resumed at the Kedarnath shrine from September 11.
In order to facilitate this, it is vital that the route to Kedarnath be opened for pedestrians and mules because dropping people and material by helicopter near the shrine is practically not feasible. Some time back the relief commissioner along with police and officers of departments concerned had trekked to Kedarnath using one of the two routes shown in a 1962 Survey of India map.
While the original route used till now by pilgrims to reach the shrine was devastated in the June 16-17 disaster, the other route shown in the map is being developed by the PWD. This path is same as the original route up to Rambada and then it takes a different alignment.