Facilities for pilgrims on Nanda Devi route to be permanent

Facilities for pilgrims in populated areas on Nanda Devi Raj Jat Yatra route in Uttarakhand hills will be of permanent nature so that they can be used by locals even after the yatra is over, the state government said today.
"Permanent constructions should be made in areas on the yatra route which are populated which could be used even after the yatra," chief secretary Alok Kumar Jain said while reviewing preparations for the event which begins in August.
Works reviewed at the meeting included improvement of Nanda Devi Raj Jat route, drinking water facilities, construction of toilets, electricity supply, parking facilities, disaster management and health facilities.

Asking district magistrates to keep an eye on the preparations, he said nodal officers be appointed and help taken from ITBP, self help groups and NGOs in successfully conducting the event also called the Kumbh of the Himalayas.
Principal Secretary (Industries) Rakesh Sharma said arrangements would be made for free distribution of food kits and milk through ITC, Nestle, Parle.
State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand (SIDCUL) will also provide support in successfully organising the event as part of its corporate social responsibility.

The yatra, a 19-day trek through some of the most colourful places in the hill state, is being held for the first time after Uttarakhand became a separate state in November 2000 after the bifurcation of Uttar Pradesh.

Covering a distance of 280 km, the yatra symbolises the departure of Nanda Devi, an incarnation of Goddess Parvati, to the abode of Lord Shiva in the Himalayas.
Led by a four-horned ram (male sheep), the yatra begins from Nauti village near Karnaprayag in Chamoli district at an altitude of 1500 metres and concludes on the 19th day at Hemkund located at a height of 4950 metres.