The SDRF statement said that on May 26, it received information from District Control Room, Rudraprayag that a pilgrim was stranded near Meru Sumeru mountain, 3 to 4 km ahead of Shri Kedarnath towards Bhairav Temple, due to bad weather and heavy snowfall, and that an SDRF team was required
DM Khurana directed the officials to complete the construction works expeditiously with quality by employing an adequate number of machines and manpower.
More than 8 lakh pilgrims have visited the Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri shrines since the Chardham Yatra began on April 22, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Uttarakhand Tourism Department.
Following the boulders and Malwa, the Badrinath Highway has been closed, the police said and added that many vehicles of pilgrims visiting Badrinath got stuck.
The Chief Minister said, "Despite rain and snowfall, a large number of pilgrims are coming to visit the Chardhams. Necessary arrangements have been made on the travel routes for the smooth operation of travel arrangements."
On occasion, Special Executive Officer in the Tourism Department Bhaskar Khulbe and Deputy Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Mangesh Ghildiyal took stock of the reconstruction work at Badrinath Dham.
"Due to bad weather and snowfall in Kedarnath, the registration of pilgrims for Kedarnath has been stopped till tomorrow May 3. The decision regarding registration will be taken keeping in view the weather conditions," Mayur Dixit, Rudraprayag District Magistrate (DM) said.
Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee Chairman Ajendra Ajay appealed to the pilgrims visiting Kedarnath to take information about the weather before heading for yatra and said that the state government and the temple committee have made all arrangements for the Chardham Yatra.
"There has been continuous snowfall in Kedarnath Dham since this morning. Please be careful in view of the weather and start the journey according to the weather forecast. Dial 112 for emergency assistance," Uttarakhand Police said.
"The boards at various places in Kedarnath and Badrinath Dham containing donations through QR codes were not put up by the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC). These boards were installed on the day of the opening of the doors in both Dhams. The boards were later removed by BKTC