Kedarnath MlA, Manoj Rawat has charged the State Government with being under-prepared for the ensuing Char Dham Yatra for which lakhs of pilgrims are expected to arrive.
The Char Dham Yatra would start on April 28 when the portals of Gangotri temple would reopen. The portals of Kedarnath portals are reopening on May 03 while the Badrinath temple would open on May 06. The travel agencies are expecting a big surge in the number of visitors this year. The initial hotel, bus and taxi bookings are also very encouraging this year.
looking worried on what he terms very poor preparations for the Char Dham this year, the Kedarnath MlA said that recent spell of rains and snowfall in the area has exposed big chinks in the preparedness for Yatra. “There are five glaciers on Rambada- Kedarnath route which are yet to be cleared. The whole road ahead from Rudraprayag was dug up for laying of OFC cable and not repaired properly due to which the road has become dangerous. last year before the onset of the Yatra, former Chief Minister Harish Rawat had undertaken three visits to Kedarnath temple due to which the entire official machinery was alert and all the preparations were completed in time. last year Chief Secretary and other officers had visited Kedarnath but his time the senior officers are yet to hit the ground. All they are doing is to pass instructions while sitting in comforts of their office in Dehradun,’’ he said. The Congress MlA said that staying arrangements for pilgrims on Kedarnath visit is also a cause of worry as he claimed that large numbers of people are expected in Bhagwat discourse of some saints. He cautioned that since Kedarnath is situated at an altitude of more than 11000 feet there is no scope for complacency as the safety of pilgrims is of paramount importance. The Congress MlA appealed the Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat to take a serious note of the preparation for Yatra.
He said that after the disaster of 2013, lot of effort was made to bring back the confidence of people across the country, which was anxious about their safety during the Yatra. This effort was successful as a record number of pilgrims visited Kedarnath last year.