NDRF and police evacuated 800 pilgrims till 10:30 am today. About 60-70 pilgrims are staying on the spot. On the preparations amid the warning of heavy rains, State Disaster Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said that there has been no significant damage anywhere. Our Char Dham route is mostly open except for a few areas.
There is debris on the road between Sonprayag and Gaurikund, but it remains open daily. Similarly, the road in Sirobgadh remains closed on most days. We are reopening it and ensuring permanent repairs.
The road leading to Gangotri on the Gangotri Highway is closed, and one in Pithoragarh is also closed. Action is underway to reopen about 35 PWD and rural roads. The main roads are mostly open and traffic is running smoothly. Rain continues continuously and we send updates and safety precautions to the districts on receiving IMD alerts.
Two hundred pilgrims have returned after darshan this morning, who are on the foot track. On Wednesday, NDRF and SDRF safely brought 2179 passengers from Gaurikund to Sonprayag through the jungle by building a temporary footpath. The passengers had returned after visiting Baba Kedarnath and were stranded due to the closure of the national highway near Munkatiya due to heavy landslides.
On Wednesday, different teams of NDRF and SDRF were busy bringing passengers from Gaurikund to Sonprayag with the help of temporary footpaths. During this, the team built a rough path from the highway towards the jungle about one km before Gaurikund and from here, the passengers were sent towards the jungle and brought to Sonprayag with the help of other soldiers.
SDRF SI Ashish Dimri said that by 7 pm, 2179 passengers have been brought safely to Sonprayag, which includes 1679 men, 414 women and 47 children. Let us tell you that all these pilgrims had reached the Dham on foot last Tuesday.
62 roads including one national and two state highways are closed due to debris after rain in the state. According to the State Emergency Operation Center, the Rudraprayag-Kedarnath National Highway is closed due to landslide between Gaurikund and Sonprayag. While among the state highways, one state highway each is closed in Uttarkashi and Nainital.
