PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Jyotirmath / Pithoragarh
With Uttarakhand experiencing a sudden late-season cold spell triggered by western disturbances, the Badrinath Dham is now blanketed under a thick layer of snow. Not just the shrine but multiple high-altitude places nestled in the higher elevations in Chamoli district like Auli, Hemkund Sahib,Valley of Flowers, and Niti Valley are experiencing heavy snowfall. At the same time, the lower elevations of the district are recording intermittent rain. The sudden snow and rain spells have resulted in significant dip in mercury, making the people feel as though the winter has returned while it seemed to be leaving.
Over two feet of snow has accumulated in the Badrinath Dham premises. The people are happy with the return of the winter, but on the flipside, the sudden snow/rain spell is impeding the reconstruction work going on in accordance with the Badrinath Master Plan. It had remained stalled since December due to the harsh winter condition. But soon after its resumption, things are stalled once again due to the sudden mood swing of the ever quirky weather. The construction and beautification of the protective walls on the banks of Alaknanda as well as the construction of a high-tech hospital being built with state of the art technology are being affected. This apart, repairing work of various footpaths for the convenience of the pilgrims which had been going on in full swing has slowed down due to the inclement weather.
The executive engineer, PWD, Badrinath Dham, Yogesh Manral said that more than 100 labourers and officials are now present in Badrinath Dham. “But the intermittent snowfall here is delaying master plan work,” he added.
Pithoragarh, another border district of Uttarakhand, is experiencing the same. Normal life has been severely affected while in some places life has come to a standstill. Heavy downpour accompanied by hails and thunderstorms began Thursday night and continued until Friday evening, severely disrupting normal life.
With snowfall continuing in the higher reaches, the peaks of Nanda Devi, Panchachuli, Hardeol and Rajrambha have been painted white.
Intermittent snowfall has made life difficult in the high Himalayan villages of Garbyang, Gunji, Namik, Kuti and Chhaialekh. Along with them, the mid-Himalayan areas like Khalia Top, Chiplakot and Hansaling have also been covered in snow.
The effects are now reaching the lower regions with snowfall recorded in the Naya Basti area of Munsyari and Thal-Munsiyari road completely blocked near Pathalthod. Besides, the Kailash-Mansarovar route has also been hit by snowfall.
With the possibility of inclement weather persisting for a few more days, the district administration has advised people to avoid non-essential travelling and give priority to safety.
