“Situation on disaster-hit Kedarnath route normal now”: Uttarakhand Disaster Management Secretary

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], August 9 (ANI): Uttarakhand Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman on Friday informed that the situation on the disaster-hit Kedarnath route is normal now.

Earlier, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had instructed that the footpaths be repaired within 1 week and the journey be made smooth. Along with this, he had also instructed that the journey should be started by helicopter.

The Disaster Secretary said that the footpaths were damaged in 29 places, there are still 3 days left in a week and so far 25 roads have been repaired, and work is going on at the remaining places. “We are hoping that the footpath will start from Monday,” he said.

The Disaster Secretary also said that Rs 300 crores have been given to repair the roads damaged anywhere in the state and the work is going on.

Earlier, the Uttarakhand government announced that they would provide a 25 per cent discount on tickets for travel by helicopter service for pilgrims going to Shri Kedarnath Dham.

After reviewing the relief and rescue operations and reconstruction work in the rain-affected areas of the Rudraprayag district, the CM has directed the authorities to start the Kedarnath Dham Yatra by foot soon.

He also stated that the helicopter service for the Dham should start on Wednesday and the devotees coming to visit through the service will be given a discount of 25 per cent on the fare borne by the state government.

He also appealed to the local people for suggestions and cooperation in the work to be done to start the journey.

Earlier, Dhami conducted an aerial survey of the affected areas, after which he also reviewed all the departments related to the Chardham Yatra route and enquired about the damage caused by heavy rains.

At the same time, he enquired about the efforts and preparations made by all the departments to start the journey. Dhami directed the officials to take necessary steps to normalize life in the affected areas. He directed that the damaged routes, drinking water, and power lines should be restored as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, rescue and search operations continue in the landslide-affected regions of Sonprayag. According to the Uttarakhand Secretary of Disaster Management, 17 people have died so far.

On Monday, the Indian Air Force airlifted 201 people to safe areas including 17 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel from the Kedarnath Valley.

Approximately 2000 kg of relied material were also supplied to critical areas of the state till Monday.