Important Himalayan pilgrimage cancelled

The Nandadevi Raj Jat yatra, an important Himalayan pilgrimage undertaken every 12 years through Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, was cancelled today due to extensive damage caused to roads by flash floods in the state in June this year.
The decision to cancel the yatra was taken in public interest considering the massive damage caused to roads all along the pilgrimage route, Nandadevi Raj Jat Samity chief Rakesh Kunwar said.
The 19-day pilgrimage was scheduled to begin from Nauti village in Chamoli district, which was hardest-hit by the June natural calamity, on August 29.
A fresh date for the high-altitude pilgrimage would be announced in the next ten days, Kunwar said.

The yatra can be undertaken only next year as the route becomes snow-bound and inaccessible for six months from October onwards, Samity sources said.