PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The police had to resort to mild lathi charge after several pilgrims allegedly reached Sonprayag in Rudraprayag district on Wednesday under the guise of locals to proceed towards Kedarnath temple despite the restrictions. Due to heavy rainfall alerts, the district administration has suspended the Kedarnath Yatra for three days from August 12. However, a large number of devotees still reached Sonprayag to proceed towards Kedarnath.
Police stopped them from moving forward, leading to an exchange of words between devotees and the administration. Some devotees broke through the barricades, after which police used batons to control the crowd. Videos of the incident circulated on social media and went viral.
Talking about the incident to The Pioneer, the Rudraprayag superintendent of police Akshay Konde said, “The district administration suspended the Yatra because of heavy rain and fog in the Kedarnath valley, which created difficulties along the route.
A woman also died here on Tuesday. Considering such conditions, police have been stopping pilgrims at multiple points for safety. Despite this, several devotees reached Sonprayag by using local transport such as buses and shared taxis. On Wednesday morning, about 100 to 150 devotees reached Sonprayag and attempted to move ahead but police stopped them.”
The SP said that no injuries were reported as police did not actually hit anybody, just dispersed them. The Yatra will remain closed on Thursday as well and pilgrims will be allowed to resume the Yatra once the weather improves. “We appeal to all pilgrims to stay safe, cooperate with authorities and do not travel in this inclement weather,” he added.
