Over 6k pilgrims in Kedarnath, Badrinath asked to stay in safe places amid heavy rains
At least 6,500 pilgrims including, 4,000 in Kedarnath and 2,500 in Badrinath temple premises, have been asked not to take the return journey on Monday amid heavy rains across the state, said officials of Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board on Monday
At least 6,500 pilgrims including, 4,000 in Kedarnath and 2,500 in Badrinath temple premises, have been asked not to take the return journey on Monday amid heavy rains across the state, said officials of Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board on Monday.

The officials said that the pilgrims have been asked to stay in the lodging facilities available in the temple premises and wait till Tuesday to return.
“As per our information, there are about 4,000 pilgrims in Kedarnath temple premises and 2,500 in Badrinath premises. We have asked all of them to stay in the lodging facilities there till Monday night and take the return journey after the weather clears on Tuesday,” said Ravinath Raman, chairman Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board.
He said that the appeal has been made amid a red alert issued by the Dehradun centre of India Meteorological Department for heavy to extremely heavy rainfall on Monday in the state.
“The Char Dham Yatra has not been halted but an appeal has been made to the people to not go on the pilgrimage today and tomorrow. They have been asked to stay put where they are due to the threats of rockfalls and landslides on the highway amid heavy rains,” said Raman.
To prevent any untoward incident due to heavy rains, the administration has stopped people in Haridwar and Rishikesh from going ahead with the Char Dham Yatra.
In Rishikesh, the running of Char Dham Yatra vehicles has been stopped from the bus stand with police putting barricades to stop any traffic moving up the hills towards the four shrines. In Haridwar too, the pilgrims have been asked to stay in safe places on Monday and Tuesday.
Meanwhile, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday visited the state control room of the disaster management department in Dehradun where he reviewed the preparations being made to handle any emergency situation.
“During his visit, he spoke to the district magistrates of Pauri Garhwal and Rudraprayag districts during which he was apprised that three people died while two were injured in Pauri Garhwal’s Lansdowne town after the ceiling of their house collapsed due to heavy rains. The Rudraprayag DM informed him about the situation of Char Dham Yatra in Kedarnath shrine,” said an official from the CM office.
He added that “During the meeting, the CM directed all the district magistrates to provide an hourly report on the rain situation and clear any blocked roads as soon as possible while keeping the response time to any emergency situation to a minimum.”
The CM also urged the Char Dham pilgrims to exercise “caution.”
Due to heavy rains in the state, the government earlier ordered all the schools to remain closed on Monday.