Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday spoke to Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and informed him about the extensive damage to the Kedarnath walking route and several National Highways (NH) due to the recent heavy rains in the state. Dhami told Gadkari that in view of the rush of pilgrims and tourists visiting the state after the monsoon, it is necessary to repair the highways soon.
Gadkari assured him of all possible help to deal with the situation. Garhwal Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey was appointed as the nodal officer for the restoration of infrastructure on the Kedarnath Yatra route. Dhami held an online meeting with officials to take stock of the ongoing rescue operations on the Yatra route. He directed the secretaries of the Disaster Management Department and the Public Works Department to visit the affected area and expedite the restoration work.
Meanwhile, Rudraprayag District Magistrate Saurabh Gaharwar said that if the weather remains favorable, it may take a week to remove debris and stones from the yatra route leading to Kedarnath and restore it, while the repair work of the 150 meter broken portion of the route will start soon. Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said that efforts are on to evacuate the remaining 1,000 pilgrims on the way to Kedarnath temple. He said, however, that all of them are safe and are being well taken care of.
Suman said that 9,099 pilgrims have been evacuated safely since the rescue operation began on Thursday morning. However, in a press release issued by the State Disaster Management Department on Friday night, it was told that the number of pilgrims evacuated since the operation began on August 1 is 10,715. The help of Indian Air Force’s Chinook and MI17 helicopters is also being taken in the rescue operation.
