After the earlier attempt aborted by inclement weather, luck finally smiled on President Pranab Mukherjee as he had a Darshan of lord Shiva at the famed Kedarnath temple on Wednesday morning. He was accompanied by the Governor KK Paul and Chief Minister Harish Rawat aside from his son Abhijit Mukherjee, an MP from West Bengal. The President performed the rituals for around half an hour as the weather was pleasant. Notably, the President could not have made it to the shrine as the chopper with him on board failed to land due to poor visibility on June 22 this year.
Things were a bit uncertain this time too as the chopper failed to land at Kedarnath temple complex due to poor visibility as part of mock drill undertaken on Tuesday. However, things were clear on Wednesday morning and everything was in perfect order as the IAF chopper landed sans any glitch.
Mukherjee arrived at Kedarnath helipad from GTC helipad of Dehradun by helicopter at 8:30 am. Chairperson of Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee Ganesh Godiyal and other officials welcomed him on his arrival in the traditional way. Godiyal gifted him with a shawl and a souvenir, a replica of Kedarnath shrine. Commissioner Garhwal Vinod Sharma, IG Sanjay Gunjyal, district magistrate Rudraparyag Raghav langer and police superintendent Parhlad Narayan Meena were among others present when the President and others accompanying him arrived.
The Chief Minister Harish Rawat took the opportunity to explain to the President the measures taken by his government to restore things ravaged by the deluge 2013 and also about the future plans kept on the anvil to revamp the areas surrounding the shrine. CM further informed the President that footpaths to the shrine have been made more convenient than before. Besides, several facilities are being provided to the devotees thronging the shrine, things which are being appreciated the world over. He stressed that footfalls of the pilgrims are rising steadily with the number of pilgrims visiting Chardham and Shri Hemkund Sahib reaching to over 12 lakh this year. This is thanks to the yatra being made safer and more convenient, the CM said to the beaming President.