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Showing posts from April, 2014

Chardham yatra to start on May 2

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PTI | Apr 27, 2014, 07.10 PM IST DEHRADUN: All preparations are complete for the start of Chardham yatra from May 2 with the road from Rudraprayag to Joshimath on way to Badrinath fully black-topped and the snow-clogged highway leading to the Himalayan shrine cleared of snow and opened to traffic, chief secretary Subhash Kumar on Sunday said. The damaged stretch at Bhimtalla has been repaired but some work remains to be done on a 300 metre patch from Joshimath to Lambhagad Binakoli. However, that is not going to interrupt the yatra slated to begin from May 2 with the opening of the sacred portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri in Garhwal Himalayas, the chief secreraty who is currently touring Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Uttarkashi districts to assess preparedness for the annual pilgrimage said. 700 volunteers of Nehru Institute of Mountaineering are at work on the pedestrian route between Rudraprayag and Gaurikund on way to Kedarnath to finish it by May 4 when the famed Himalayan temp

Uttarakhand rushes more men to clear snow on Kedarnath route

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TNN | Apr 25, 2014, 05.04 AM IST DEHRADUN: With barely three days to go for the deadline to complete preparations for the Char Dham yatra, commencing on May 2, the Harish Rawat government on Thursday deployed 200 more professionally-trained personnel from different departments, including 90 jawans from newly-created State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), to speed up work within the stipulated time. Uttarakhand government pressed into service 90 SDRF's jawans on the Kedarnath route to help clear the four to five-feet layer of snow on the newly re-constructed 9km Rambara to Kedarnath and 23km Sonprayag to Kedarnath trek routes. Additional chief secretary Rakesh Sharma who flew into Kedarnath town to monitor the yatra preparations said,"Once these treks are completely cleared, devotees on way to Kedarnath will no longer face any hurdles or problems on way to the shrine." A senior official accompanying Sharam told TOI that the STF members have successfully managed to

Char Dham Yatra to begin in May; Uttarakhand government assures safety

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IANS , Apr 24, 2014 at 12:16am IST The Uttarakhand government has assured pilgrims of facilities and safety measures during the "Char Dham" and "Hemkund Sahib Yatra" in the hill state as it restarts May this year. This is the first time that pilgrimage is being allowed to religious places in Uttarakhand after last year's natural disaster in June left hundreds dead and many missing. "As part of the safety measures and to keep better track of all pilgrims coming for 'Char Dham Yatra', the state government is making registration system mandatory," Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat told the media here Wednesday. "We want to ensure safety of pilgrims by making registration mandatory for all pilgrims undertaking the yatra. Registration counters will be set up at entry points of the state and also on yatra routes," he said. The pilgrimage was stopped June last year after cloudbursts and massive rainfall devastated the Hindu

Uttarakhand eyes tourism recovery; gears up for Chardham Yatra

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Last Updated: Friday, April 11, 2014, 11:03 Mumbai: Uttarakhand, recovering from an unprecedented natural disaster last year, is all geared up to revive its tourism sector and pinning hopes on a good response to the annual Chardham Yatra beginning next month. The hill state, whose economy is hugely dependent on tourism, is home to Hindu holy shrines of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri (Chardham), which attract a large number of devotees and religious travellers every year. "We are in the process of rebuilding the state's infrastructure (which was hit by the disaster). We are ready to begin the 'holy yatra' from May 2 with the opening of Yamunotri and Gangotri gates," Umakant Panwar, Secretary, Department of Tourism, Uttarakhand told reporters here. In June 2013, devastating floods and landslides caused destruction in the state. Though only 20 per cent of the state was affected by the calamity, it suffered a huge loss in terms of revenue. &