New Delhi, July 16 – oga guru Baba Ramdev was among thousands of pilgrims stuck in Gangotri as the road to Uttarkashi has caved-in at many places amid heavy rain in Uttarakhand. Ramdev is stuck with around 400 students. He had gone ahead with the programme despite an alert issued by Met department of Uttarakhand.
The Uttarakhand DGP said if anything happened to the children who went to Gangotri with Baba Ramdev, then legal action would be taken against the yoga guru. The state, which witnessed a devastating disaster last year when thousands of Char Dham yatra pilgrims lost their lives after being caught unaware in the deluge, has warned pilgrims to keep themselves updated on the weather conditions.
The state disaster management department has asked pilgrims bound for Himalayan shrines of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri to be prepared as per the MeT department warning, and has been issuing regular weather updates to them, officials said.
Char Dham Yatra halted after heavy rain Uttarakhand:
The annual Hindu pilgrimage of Char Dham that takes devouts to Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines was halted on Wednesday following heavy rain in Uttarakhand, officials said.
The Rishikesh-Badrinath national highway (NH) and the road connecting Kedarnath-Gaurikund have also been blocked following heavy downpour and landslides since Tuesday.
Officials said a state of high alert for heavy rain was sounded in time and devotees were evacuated to safety. There are, however, reports that many devotees have been stranded in the rains.
A bridge constructed over the Saraswati river near Kalimath in Rudraprayag was washed away late Tuesday, after which 164 devotees returning from Kedarnath were stranded and have taken refuge in a government camp.
This bridge was constructed last year after another bridge on the river was washed away in the flash floods of June 16-17 last year. Mandakini and Alaknanda rivers are in spate and have breached the danger level marks.
Heavy to very heavy rains have been forecast for most parts of the hill state and weather officials say there will be no respite from rains for the next three days. As many as 300 pilgrims undertaking the Char Dham Yatra are reported trapped in Joshimath area en route to Badrinath and efforts are being made to ensure their safety.
-INDIA TODAY
