Chardham Yatra has been temporarily banned. This decision has been taken due to the heavy rain alert of the Meteorological Department in Uttarakhand. Meteorological Department issued a rain alert which would stay till Monday. Hence, the pilgrimage to Chardham has been banned. It has been raining in the Yatra route areas of the state since Sunday morning.
Uttarakhand CM Dhami, who is on a two-day visit to Ayodhya, took updates from Chief Secretary SS Sandhu about the situation over a telephonic conversation. He directed that police, SDRF and other concerned personnel should be kept on high alert at sensitive places. Wherever any ill incident occurs, the response time should be minimum. If needed, the affected should get immediate relief. Special care should also be taken on the Char Dham Yatra route. Char Dham Yatris and tourists should also be appealed to take precautions.
Rudraprayag District Magistrate Manuj Goyal said that The passengers who reached the Dham are being sent back after darshan. Police and SDRF have been deployed to assist at the main points of the yatra.
Uttarkashi district administration has also stopped Gangotri and Yamunotri Yatra for the time being. The passengers who have had darshan in Gangotri and Yamunotri are being asked to go to a safe destination.
Passengers going to Yamunotri have been stopped at Badkot, while passengers going to Gangotri are being stopped near Uttarkashi and Bhatwadi. There are high chances of rain and snowfall in Gangotri Dham and Yamunotri Dham.
In 2013, a cloudburst in Uttarakhand caused heavy devastation. The havoc reminded people of the 2004 Tsunami. The state administration is in action mode after the alerts issued by the meteorological department to ensure the safety of tourists as well as residents learning from the previous instance.
