The Kedarnath Yatra has restarted on Friday afternoon after being halted for a duration of over five hours following a landslide followed by a boulder fall in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district due to the rains.
The incident happened around 6.30 am, due to sheeting rain during the night, which allowed big boulders and debris to fall on the pedestrian track connecting the dayan town to the temple of Kedarnath. Pilgrims were not allowed to move on the path for precautionary measures until it was cleared.
Clearance was done in a prompt manner and the trekking path was opened again for pedestrians around 1 pm, according to the officials of the Public Works Department (PWD). Mule and horse services are still suspended though while the area is looking to ensure the entire highway is safe for those services.
The landslide road will be completely reopened on Saturday, Sunil Singh Rawat, Executive Engineer, PWD, said debris was being cleared up at that location and repairs were still in progress.
At another place heavy boulders also fell near Gaurikund on Friday morning disrupting the pilgrimage route for a while. The officials used heavy machines to clear the debris and this resulted in a yatra without any major delays.
Meanwhile, the police opened the Yamunotri Highway near Sayana Chatti, where debris accumulated due to another rain-induced landslide. District disaster management officials said that traffic and essential services have been restored on the affected direction.
During this period, the Uttarkashi district administration is on its guard to keep the pilgrims and people staying in Char Dham safe and to sustain uninterrupted essential services, Uttarkashi District Magistrate Prashant Arya said.
The India Meteorological Department has stated that the monsoon activity was “normal” in Uttarakhand in the last 24 hours with light to moderate rainfall in scattered parts while heavy to very heavy rain was observed at isolated areas and the officials have issued alert.