Uttarakhand govt orders repair of Char Dham yatra route in time

Progress of work on all major routes will be reviewed at the end of April

Uttarakhand government has ordered completion of all road repair and reconstruction works along Char Dham Yatra route well before the start of the annual pilgrimage in May. Directives to this effect were issued by Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar soon after his return from a tour of Rudraprayag district to review the progress of road reconstruction work under way in the area.

Rudraparayg was one of the three districts apart from Uttarkashi and Chamoli in Garhwal region hit hard by the natural calamity in Uttarakhand last year.

The chief secretary said the Char Dham routes should be repaired well before the scheduled start of the annual pilgrimage and the alternative motor roads should be made operational by the end of this month. Progress of work on this front will be reviewed again at the end of this month and no negligence on part of officials in this regard will be tolerated, the chief secretary warned.

A sum of Rs 12 crore has been sanctioned for the reconstruction of an alternative route to Kedarnath between Guptkashi and Mayali which will be operational soon.

When the highway leading to Kedarnath was badly damaged in the calamity last year, it was Guptkashi-Mayali route through which stranded pilgrims had been evacuated to safer places.

Ordering that road repair works should be launched on a war footing in view of the approaching yatra season, the chief secretary said badly damaged spots on Lambgaon, Kotalgaon-Chamiyala motor roads should be repaired to facilitate smooth movement of traffic.