With the route from Sonprayag to Kedarnath, along the Mandakini river, washed away in last month’s Uttarakhand floods, the Army is working on opening a new 20-km route to the shrine, west of the present route.
The new route is likely to follow the alignment from Sonprayag via Gomkar, Dev Vishnu and Dhungaj Giri to Kedarnath and will pass over an altitude of over 13,000 feet, an Army official said here on Thursday.
“As the meteorological department forecasts predict more rains in the near future in the area, opening a new land route was the only solution to gain access to the shrine,” they said.
“On being requested by the civil administration and the National Disaster Reserve Force (NDRF), Army troopers from the Lucknow-based Central Command have now commenced work to open the new route to the Kedarnath shrine,” they added.
Uttarakhand witnessed incessant rains in the last few days, due to which helicopters have not been able to fly and the relief work was severely hampered. Land routes suffered extensive damage during the flash floods from June 15, 16 and 17 this year, resulting in the access to the Kedarnath shrine being cut off. Army teams conducted a reconnaissance of the area and commenced work to open the new route along the fresh alignment, following the civil administration request, so that relief work can continue and movement of personnel and goods are not hampered.
“After much difficulty, the Central Command teams were successful in establishing a crossing over the Vasuki Ganga at Sonprayag on Wednesday and the leading team, comprising 21 persons, crossed the river and reached Gomkara and camped there overnight at an altitude of approximately 13,000 feet,” the Army said.
On Thursday, another team with logistic support crossed the river at Sonprayag and is now moving on the route opened by the leading team. This team will establish a staging area in the area of Gomkara, the Army added. The leading team is presently opening the route to Kedarnath, crossing Dev Vishnu, and was still heading for Kedarnath.
