Wednesday, 25 SEPTEMBER 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The pilgrimage to Kedarnath has picked up pace again with the weather clearing in the region. Heavy rains and landslides have disrupted the pilgrimage for a few days but reduction in the rain enabled upto 5,000 pilgrims to visit the shrine daily. With the weather clearing, more than 11,000 people have been visiting the temple daily since Sunday. According to official sources, about 11.83 lakh people had visited Kedarnath temple this year as of Tuesday evening.
The monsoon is on the wane and comparatively clear weather for the past week has resulted in the flow of traffic to Kedarnath resuming. The number of pilgrims visiting Kedarnath has been rising consistently in recent years. Heavy rains and landslides on July 31 had caused considerable destruction on the Kedarnath route and also affected the pilgrimage. The State government undertook necessary measures on a war footing to restore the routes and facilitate the pilgrimage while also doing the needful to rescue the stranded pilgrims. The authorities managed to restore movement on the bridle path to Kedarnath within 15 days. The Kedar Sabha head Rajkumar Tiwari thanked chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami for ensuring resumption of the pilgrimage and business on the route within a record time. The resumption of the pilgrimage has also boosted the income of all those involved in providing various services including hospitality, mule-horse transport and other facilities, he said.
