Central Command working on new route to Kedar

LUCKNOW: On the request of civil administration and national disaster response force (NDRF), army men of Central Command have commenced the work to open a new route to the Kedarnath shrine in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand.

The land routes had suffered extensive damage during the cloudburst and flash floods of June 16-17 and access to the Kedarnath shrine had been cut off since then.

“As meteorological forecasts predict more rains in the near future, opening a new land route was the only solution to gain continued access to the shrine,” a ministry of defence press communiqué said. Several areas in the state have 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.

After conducting inspection of the area, the army men commenced the work to open a route along a fresh alignment. After much difficulty, the Central Command teams were successful in establishing a crossing over the Vasuki Ganga at Sonprayag on Wednesday. The leading team that comprised 21 persons, including four officers, crossed the river and reached Gomkara and camped there for the night at an altitude of approximately 13,000 feet.

On Thursday, another team with logistic support crossed the river at Sonprayag and moved on the route opened by the leading team.