Badrinath Dham Nodal officer reviews Chardham Yatra preparations

Chamoli (Uttarakhand), April 9 (ANI): With the Chardham Yatra 2025 approaching, Dr R Rajesh Kumar, Secretary of the Medical Health Department and Nodal Officer for Badrinath Dham, held a comprehensive review meeting with officials of the concerned departments at the Collectorate in Chamoli on Wednesday.
During the meeting, Dr Kumar informed that, following the directives of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, he had recently conducted a detailed field inspection covering key infrastructure from Kameda to Badrinath, a release said.
This included evaluating the conditions of roads, electricity supply, drinking water facilities, and other essential services needed to ensure a smooth and safe pilgrimage and departments have been directed to complete all their preparations by April 25.
Dr Kumar specifically directed the completion of protection work and asphalting work in Nandprayag, Kameda, and Pagalnala within the next 15 to 20 days and to start work on the old gabion wall at Parthadip in Nandprayag.
He also asked for the removal of the large stones present on the roadside in Jogidhara within a week and the completion of the construction of the gabion wall near Hathipahar by June. He informed that the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary themselves are continuously monitoring the preparations for the Chardham Yatra.
This year's Yatra is being taken forward as "Green Chardham," under which a complete ban has been imposed on single-use plastic. All departments have been asked to prepare a disposal plan for this.
Dr Kumar appealed to the officers and employees to adopt a healthy lifestyle and advised them to reduce the use of salt, sugar, and oil by 10 percent.
The Chief Medical Officer has been asked to identify the places for setting up medical relief posts on the travel routes and ensure necessary action. At the same time, instructions were also given to the Jal Sansthan to prepare a long-term plan for the drinking water supply in Badrinath.
He praised the district administration for the successful operation of the Mana Avalanche Rescue Operation.
District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari informed that the work is going on at a fast pace from Kameda to Nandprayag. Ramps have been developed in Nandprayag so that debris will not come onto the road. Electricity and drinking water supply are running smoothly in Badrinath.
Active cooperation is being received from Vivekanand Hospital, Peepalkoti, and Badrinath for health services. All the necessary works will be completed by April 25.
In this sequence, Dr Kumar conducted a field inspection of the flood protection works proposed under SDMF (State Disaster Mitigation Fund) in Mehargaon Gadhera, Peuli Gadhera, and Agathala Gadhera under Development Block Dasholi, Nagar Panchayat Peepalkoti. He described these schemes as very useful and necessary from the point of view of the safety of the area. (ANI)