The Char Dham Yatra is slated to resume later this month with the portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines scheduled to be reopened to the public on April 21 followed by the reopening of Kedarnath on April 24 and Badrinath on April 26. The Chief Minister has held periodic meetings with officials stressing on the need for completing preparations on time. However, there are many slide zones on the national highways leading to the Char Dham shrines that have not yet been treated as required.
Considering the present status of the slide zones, observers opine that pilgrims undertaking the Char Dham Yatra this year could face hardships due to traffic disruption especially during the monsoon when many of the slide zones are activated causing road blockages. The June 2013 disaster had not only wrecked the road network in Uttarakhand but had also dented the image of the State as a safe destination for tourists and pilgrims. Since then, the State Government claims to have undertaken considerable reconstruction and rehabilitation works especially in Kedarnath not only to rebuild the damaged infrastructure but also to restore the confidence of tourists.
Earlier, in February, the Chief Minister Harish Rawat had deputed officials as nodal officers to monitor repair works on the routes to the Char Dham shrines. According to official sources, the recent spell of rain and snowfall experienced in the State has hampered this work though the routes to the shrines are expected to be cleared by April 21. Observers point out that though the routes to the shrines may be opened on time for the resumption of the Yatra, the slide zones on the highways and other important roads in the State will pose problems especially during the monsoon.
The official sources state that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is working on a proposal estimated to be worth Rs1,000 crore for facilitating the required treatment of major slide zones on important roads in Uttarakhand. A total of 36 major slide zones have been identified for treatment by the ministry though the DPR is yet to be finalised. Considering that the Char Dham Yatra is slated to resume later this month and that the rainy season in general begins in a couple of months later, observers point out that since the treatment of the slide zones has not even been started yet, the pilgrims and tourists apart from the locals are bound to face inconvenience during the rainy season.