Uttarakhand govt announces 25pc discount on heli services for pilgrims going to Kedarnath Dham

Rudraprayag (Uttrakhand) [India], August 6 (ANI): The Uttarakhand government announced on Tuesday that they will 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, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami 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 normalise life in the affected areas. He directed that the damaged routes, drinking water, and power lines should be restored as soon as possible.

CM Dhami also listened to the problems of the local people during his interaction with them at Rampur Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) and assured a solution to all the problems caused by heavy rains.

He further thanked the local people for their cooperation in the rescue operation conducted by the government and administration in these difficult circumstances and also thanked the central government for providing all possible assistance, including Chinook and MI helicopters after the heavy rains.

Speaking to the media after the review meeting, Dhami said that due to landslides caused by heavy rains, footpaths and roads have been cut off at 29 places. Apart from this, a large number of government properties, including drinking water and electricity lines, were also damaged.

Telecommunication services have also been disrupted in some places. He said that since the incident of heavy rainfall, the district administration, disaster management, and other organisations, including SDRF, DDRF, NDRF, public representatives, the Panda community, pilgrimage priests, and organisations related to religious and social concerns, have worked wholeheartedly in this rescue operation to take the devotees trapped in this disaster to safe places.

The Chief Minister said that about 12 thousand devotees and local people have been rescued in record time. The rescue operation is almost complete.