The Char Dham Yatra is slated to resume in about a month. The portals of the Badrinath shrine are slated to be reopened to the public on May 5, but there is little progress in the work of repairing the damaged highway to Badrinath. Considering the damaged condition of the national highway, the pilgrims undertaking the journey to Badrinath are likely to face problems unless the authorities are able to complete the repairs well in time.
The damaged condition of this national highway has seen little change since disaster struck the State in June last year. Following the disaster last year, about three kilometre long stretch of the highway from lambagad to Venakuli was closed to traffic. For the first time in recent history, this route remained closed to traffic for three months before it was reopened by the Border Roads Organisation. However, there has been limited progress in the repair work on this highway since the portals of the shrine were closed to the public last year. Considering the present state of this stretch of the highway and if the authorities fail to repair it on time, the travelers and pilgrims would face severe inconvenience while travelling to Badrinath especially in case of rain. Every year, traffic on this and other mountains roads is disrupted following rain and resulting landslides. At present the Border Roads Organisation is busy in clearing the snow from the national highway to Badrinath. The condition of the national highway is delicate from the lambagad slide zone to Venakuli. If the road is not widened and repaired on time, the travellers would face severe inconvenience here. The roads have not been leveled so travelers are bound to have a bumpy ride.
The locals are also apprehensive about the possibility of the authorities to repair and improve the condition of the damaged roads before the reopening of the Badrinath shrine.