After returning from a fact-finding visit of Kedarnath, Haridwar MP and former Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank alleged on Saturday that the State Government had failed to remove the bodies of the family members of the priest of Kedarnath shrine which are buried in piles of rubble of the damaged building since 2013.
He asked the State Government to take prompt initiatives to have bodies extricated. “It is surprising that the State Government has not yet taken initiatives
to have the bodies removed,” he said.
Dr Nishank said he had spoken to the chief secretary and requested him to do something on the matter at the earliest. “With nothing happening, BJP has decided to take the matter up with the authority,” he said.
He further claimed that he had tried to speak to the Chief Minister Harish Rawat over phone. “But I could not get his line,” he said. He however assured the people who gathered that he would meet CM immediately on his return to Dehradun.
Speaking about the ongoing char dham yatra, the ex CM said things on the ground are diametrically different from what the State Government has been projecting. “The State Government’s claims are flamboyant and gibberish as the people who visit
these places are realising,” Nishank said.