Uttarakhand: Kedarnath Yatra stopped at Sonprayad due to heavy rainfall

Rudraprayag District Magistrate Mayur Dixit said, "Kedarnath Yatra has been closed till further orders till the heavy rains continue."

Rudraprayag: Owing to heavy rains in Rudraprayag district, Kedarnath Yatra has been stopped at Sonprayag, informed officials on Sunday.

Rudraprayag District Magistrate Mayur Dixit said, “Kedarnath has been closed till further orders till the heavy rains continue.” Meanwhile, Haridwar received 78 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours, followed by Dehradun (33.2) and Uttarkashi (27.7), as per the India Meteorological Department.

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Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami made a surprise inspection of the State Disaster Management Control Room located at the Secretariat and got information regarding the situation of heavy rains in the state, a press release said.

Instructing the officers, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the districts under the state where heavy rains are continuing and there is a possibility of heavy rains further. “Maintain mutual communication and coordination with all those districts. So that emergency situations can be dealt with in time,” CM Dhami said. He instructed the officers to always be in alert mode for disaster relief and rescue operations.

In the ongoing Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand, over 30 lakh pilgrims have visited Char Dham and more than 10 lakh pilgrims have visited Kedarnath, Ashok Kumar, Director General of Police, said on June 22.

Efforts are being made to provide a safe and smooth darshan for the devotees, he further said. “Uttarakhand police personnel are dedicated to smooth darshan and a safe Chardham Yatra for the devotees. So far, more than 30 lakh (Gangotri- 5,35,327; Yamunotri- 4,65,295; Kedarnath- 10,17,195; Badrinath– 8,98,221; Hemkund Sahib- 88,455) devotees have left for their destinations after visiting Char Dham. Shri Kedarnath has been visited by more than 10 lakh devotees,” said Ashok Kumar, Director General of Police.

The Char Dham Yatra consists of the four holy shrines: Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. The Kapat (door) of the Gangotri and Yamunotri opened for devotees on April 22, on the auspicious day of Akshay Tritiya. The doors of the Kedarnath Dham opened on April 25 and Badrinath Dham on April 27.