Dehradun, May 9: A day after snowfall in the higher reaches of Uttarakhand disrupted the Char Dham Yatra and claimed two lives, the pilgrimage resumed on Wednesday as traffic was restored along the main routes.
The pilgrimage comprises the Himalayan shrines of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri.
On Tuesday, a pilgrim, Deviki Devi from Gurugram, had died in Kedarnath after suffering a cardiac arrest. A porter from Nepal was buried in an avalanche while returning to Gangotri from Kedartal along with a team of 31 tourists, Gangotri National Park Deputy Director Shravan Kumar said. So far, seven deaths have occurred since the start of the Chardham yatra — five in Kedarnath and two in Yamunotri.
SDRF and police personnel deployed at landslide-prone Lambagad on way to Badrinath, where road was blocked for eight hours due to rubble on Tuesday, oversaw smooth passage of pilgrims, Chamoli District Magistrate Ashish Joshi said. Ex-CM Harish Rawat, Congress Rajya Sabha MP Pradeep Tamta and Kedarnath MLA Manoj Rawat, who were stranded in Kedarnath, also returned to Guptkashi.
The Uttarakhand Government temporarily stopped chopper service to Kedarnath on Wednesday due to rain and snow. The sky was clear in the morning but rain and snowfall were experienced in afternoon, following which the chopper service was stopped, said Mangesh Ghildiyal, District Magistrate, Rudraprayag.
