Rudraprayag:

The pilgrimage to Kedarnath by road was put on hold on Saturday after part of the trek route caved in near Jungle Chatti leaving thousands of pilgrims returning from the Himalayan temple stranded.

The helicopter service remains functional, officials said.

Rudraprayag Superintendent of Police Akshay Prahlad Konde said 10-15 metre stretch of the trek route caved in suddenly, making movement along the route impossible. Thousands of pilgrims on their way back from the temple got stranded due to it.

However, an alternative route, though rather long winding, was readied quickly to evacuate the stranded pilgrims, he said.

So far, around 5,000 pilgrims have been evacuated and the rest are also being brought down with the help of the police, SDRF and NDRF personnel, he said.

The priority is to first evacuate the pilgrims who got stranded on their way back from Kedarnath, Konde said. Pilgrims bound for the temple were asked to stay in places like Phata, Guptkashi, Rudraprayag and Srinagar till restoration of the trek route which might take some time, the SP said.

Pilgrimage to the temple by air continues uninterrupted, he said.

Those who were to leave for the temple from Gaurikund and Sonprayag were asked not to proceed on their onward journey to stay safe, Mr Konde said.

No pilgrim has been allowed to go beyond Sonprayag and Gaurikund after damage to the trek route near Jungle Chatti, the SP said.

Keeping in mind safety of the pilgrims going on foot to Kedarnath, the police have requested them to stay wherever they are and not rush to reach Sonprayag or Gaurikund where there are limited staying facilities, Mr Konde said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Rudraprayag:

Heavy rains have severely damaged the route in the Rudraprayag district on Wednesday night. The rescue and relief work to evacuate the people stranded is underway.

According to the Uttarakhand police, as many as 737 people were rescued by helicopter and at least 2,670 people were taken to Sonprayag by the relief forces as of Thursday.

Taking to its official handle on X, Uttarakhand police posted, “The rescue work of people stranded on the Shri Kedarnath Dham Yatra route is continuing. 737 passengers were rescued by helicopter throughout the day.”

“2,670 passengers were taken to Sonprayag. SDRF, NDRF, DDRF, District Police and Administration teams are selflessly helping the devotees,” read the post.

Earlier, Abhinav Kumar, Director General of Police, Uttarakhand, gave information about the relief and rescue operations after heavy rains in the state and appealed to the people of the state and travellers to be cautious and follow the instructions of the officials.

Amid heavy rainfall in Tehri and Rudraprayag districts, Uttarakhand DGP Abhinav Kumar informed on Thursday that the Kedarnath Yatra has been suspended for two days due to weather conditions and 12 NDRF as well as 60 SDRF teams are engaged in rescue work.

Speaking to ANI on the situation created by heavy rains in Tehri and Rudraprayag districts, Uttarakhand Director General of Police Abhinav Kumar said on Thursday, “We had received an alert from the Meteorological Department about heavy rains in the state for 48 hours. In view of this alert, the police, NDRF, SDRF and local administration were put on alert. After the rain started last night, we started getting reports of landslides, rock falls, etc. from various areas.”

“Teams were sent to many places for relief and rescue. The Chief Minister visited Tehri and Rudraprayag and met the affected people.

 So far, 11 people have died in various districts and 8 are seriously injured. By morning, about 1000 people were stranded in Kedarnath and 800 people were stranded on the trek route of Kedarnath,” he said.

“Due to the weather warning, we have suspended the Yatra for the next two days. We have restricted the movement of pilgrims on the Yamunotri and Kedarnath trek routes. The state government has taken the help of the Air Force to evacuate the people stranded in Kedarnath. NDRF 12 teams of INS and 60 teams of SDRF are engaged in rescue work,” he added.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also conducted a ground inspection of the rain-affected areas in Tehri and Rudraprayag on Thursday.

Heavy rains in various parts of the state on Wednesday night have caused heavy damage to roads, footbridges, power and drinking water lines, as well as agricultural land.

As soon as the information about the disaster was received, CM Pushkar Singh Dhami became active from the night itself and reached the State Disaster Operations Centre at night and inquired about the damage caused by heavy rains across the state.

He instructed the officials to remain in alert mode.

Kedarnath Yatra has been stopped for the time being in view of the safety of the passengers due to landslides at many places on the Kedarnath footpath.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)