Friday, 19 August 2022 | Prem Prakash Upadhyay | Bageshwar
With the State government having declared Pindari glacier as trek of the year, about 100 trekkers from across the nation and State are slated to undertake this trek in October. The Bageshwar district administration has started preparations to facilitate this trek without any major inconvenience. District magistrate Reena Joshi instructed Public Works Department (PWD) Kapkot division executive engineer Sanjay Pandey to start the work of repairing the trek route at the earliest.
In a meeting at the district headquarters, she said that an amount of Rs 27 lakh has been released to the Kapkot division of PWD from the district plan to repair the trekking route. Additional chief executive officer (adventure) Ashwin Pundir, who was present virtually in the meeting requested the district magistrate to facilitate security arrangements for the Pindari trek, deployment of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and health facilities. Joshi said that the district administration will fully cooperate during the trek. While an SDRF unit is stationed in Kapkot, police, medical arrangements and satellite phones will be made available during the trek. She also asked Pundir to promote this trek through various means.
Pindari glacier is situated near the Nanda Devi peak in the Kumaon Himalaya. The Pindar river, which is a major tributary of the Alaknanda, originates from this glacier. It is said that GW Trail, the first commissioner of Kumaon and Garhwal, was one of the earliest persons to have climbed the Pindari glacier in 1830. However, Pindari trekking route has not been repaired since the 2013 disaster. Earlier this year, a new suspension bridge was constructed in Dwali in place of the damaged suspension bridge.
