DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand government, which had stopped Kedarnath yatra registrations till April 30, has now issued an alert to pilgrims to plan their trips after May 4 or strictly follow instructions of district authorities if they still choose to travel before that.
Rudraprayag district authorities have advised pilgrims to not leave Sonprayag after 11:30 am and Gaurikund after 1 pm. According to the regional Met centre, the harsh weather at the temple town will continue till May 4.
Met director Bikram Singh told TOI, "Rain and snow activity will start on May 1, intensify on May 3 and 4 and continue on May 4. A good spell of snow is likely at an elevation of 3,000 metres and above (Kedarnath temple is located at a height of 3,583 m). The temple has already been receiving snowfall and that will continue. Similar conditions will prevail at the other Char Dham temples till May 4. So we request all pilgrims to either postpone their visit or strictly follow the direction of district authorities concerned."
However, despite the warnings and rough weather, close to 30,000 pilgrims have registered for the yatra on May 1. In a tweet, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami asked the pilgrims to be careful or apply for a later date. Rudraprayag district magistrate Mayur Dixit said around 15,000 pilgrims were coming to Kedarnath every day, even though night accommodation is available only for 7,500 persons.
He urged pilgrims to be "extra cautious and visit Kedarnath only if they had confirmed bookings".
"A good number of pilgrims have been visiting Kedarnath and the weather is not good, so a warning has been issued. Our teams are regulating the yatra at different points to ensure that the pilgrimage goes on smoothly," he added.
Meanwhile, amid the alert issued by the Dehradun IMD centre about likely rain and snowfall in the coming days in Char Dham towns, state DGP Ashok Kumar on Saturday evening held a meeting with senior police officers, directing them to ensure that pilgrims are duly informed about the weather conditions.
He also directed the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) to "deploy personnel with wireless sets at glacier areas en route Kedarnath shrine and be extra vigilant in case of any untoward incident."
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