Kedarnath yatra postponed after fears of landslips mount

On Thursday, the pilgrims on their way to Kedarnath were stopped after a bridge for motor vehicles at Sonprayag was damaged.

A bridge washed away by floods at Sonprayag in Rudraprayag district in Uttarakhand. Photo: Virender Singh Negi

As fears mounted that the incessant rain could trigger landslips, the yatra to the Kedarnath shrine has been postponed till Saturday.

On Thursday, the pilgrims on their way to Kedarnath were stopped after a bridge for motor vehicles at Sonprayag was damaged.

Rudraprayag District Magistrate Raghav Langer said, “The decision on resuming the yatra [from June 28] would depend on the weather conditions.”

“About 500 pilgrims who were returning from Kedarnath will spend Thursday night at Gaurikund and will be brought out from the Kedar Valley on Friday,” Mr. Langer said. .

Chamoli district magistrate Ashok Kumar said the yatra to Hemkund Sahib was also halted because of damage to four makeshift bridges on the way.

Mr. Kumar said the yatra to Badrinath – also in Chamoli district – was halted after a landslip blocked the road to the shrine.

Jhelum in spate

Zahid Rafiq reports from Srinagar: A 24-hour spell of heavy rainfall seems to have brought the Kashmir Valley back to the brink of yet another flood. While the government says the situation is under control, the Jhelum continues to flow over the danger mark.

The Irrigation and Flood Control department said the water level in Jhelum recorded at Sangam gauge in south Kashmir at 5 p.m. was 27.15 ft., more than 4 ft. above the danger mark. At Ram Munshibagh gauge in Srinagar, the water was flowing at 21.30 ft, two-and-a-half ft. above the danger level.