Preparations in full swing in Kedarnath ahead of PM Modi's visit

KEDARNATH: Preparations are in full swing in Kedarnath ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Kedarnath and Badrinath to lay the foundation stone of a few roads and the Hemkund Sahib ropeway on Friday. PM Modi will visit Kedarnath tomorrow to review and initiate various development projects.

Ganga Dhar Linga, Pradhan Pujari of Badrinath-Kedarnath Mandir Samiti said, "The preparation is in full swing here at Kedarnath ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit. PM Modi will offer prayers at Kedarnath tomorrow morning.

The Prime minister will lay the foundation stone of various development projects here." He further said that tourism has increased after the 2013 landslides and flash floods disaster.

"After the disaster, there has been a substantial increase in pilgrims. Recently, around 15 lakh people visited the Kedarnath Dham. Because of the construction of roads, it will be very easy for devotees to ascent towards the shrine and descend back easily," he said.

The Pradhan Pujari said that after the development and widening of roads more people wil visit the shrine. "For almost two years the temple was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic but after the temple was open, the number of devotees increased.

It seems that the pilgrims who have to visit Kedarnath in the next 20 years have come this year in 2022. Earlier, this time in October, it was impossible to see even 500 to 1,000 pilgrims but today there are around 20,000 people here to pay obeisance to Baba Kedarnath.

After the road widening, the number of pilgrims will increase here as everyone wants to visit Kedarnath once in their life and people are very always enthusiastic to visit Devbhoomi for Char Dham yatra," he added.

District Magistrate of Rudraprayag, Mayur Dixit said that PM Modi will review the various development work like Mandakini Asthapath, Saraswati Asthapath and others "PM Modi will offer prayers at Kedarnath Dham tomorrow.

After that, the Prime Minister will review the various development work like Mandakini Asthapath, Saraswati Asthapath and others. He will also interact with construction workers here.

For which the preparations are in full swing and there is a lot of enthusiasm among all the people here and they are very eager to welcome PM Modi," he said.

Talking about the cable car ropeway project, the Rudraprayag DM said it will be important for Kedarnath. "The cable car ropeway project for Kedarnath will be important.

The problem of movement of and material transport will be solved with the ropeway. The cable car project will be very important to people who are not able to trek and return back without offering prayers," Dixit said.

He further said that a record number of pilgrims have visited the shrine this year.

"More than 10 lakh people visited Kedarnath in 2019 and this year till date over 15 lakh devotees have visited the shrine this year. In the coming time, everyone will get a chance to visit the shrine after the cable car is functional," Dixit added.

The devotees who came to visit the Kedarnath Dham also hailed PM Modi for his commendable work.

Rakesh Kumar Srivastava, a devotee from Varanasi said that with the inauguration of the cable car, more and more people will be able to visit here easily.

"There was not much development before. But it will be good if cable care is there for everyone. The people can't bear the cost of a helicopter, but in less time and money they can travel in a cable car. The work done by our PM Modi is really commendable.

After the inauguration of the cable car, more and more people will come here," said Srivastava.

Another devote, Shreya from Pune said that this is a very good initiative by the government because there are many people who cannot afford a helicopter, so the cable car will be in the budget and it will be really useful for the elderly people too.

"We are having a nice experience. Various connectivity projects including ropeway will help the elderly and those who can't afford expensive travel services," said another pilgrim in Kedarnath.

According to the PMO office, in Kedarnath, at around 8:30 am, he will perform darshan and pooja at the Kedarnath Temple. At around 9 am, Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of the Kedarnath Ropeway Project.

After that, he will visit the Adi Guru Shankaracharya Samadhi Sthal and at around 9:25 am, Prime Minister will review the progress of development works along Mandakini Asthapath and Saraswati Asthapath.

Thereafter, Prime Minister will reach Badrinath where, at around 11:30 am, Prime Minister will perform darshan and pooja at Shri Badrinath Temple.

At 12 noon, he will review the progress of the development work of the riverfront, followed by laying the foundation stone of the road and ropeway projects at Mana village at 12:30 pm.

Thereafter, at around 2 pm, he will review the progress of the development work of the arrival plaza and lakes. The ropeway in Kedarnath will be around 9.7 km long and will connect Gaurikund to Kedarnath, reducing the travel time between the two places from 6-7 hours at present, to only about 30 mins. The Hemkund ropeway will connect Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib.

It will be around 12.4 km long and will reduce the travel time from more than a day to only about 45 minutes. This ropeway will also connect Ghangaria, which is the gateway to Valley of Flowers National Park.

The ropeways, which will be developed at a cumulative cost of around Rs 2,430 crore, are an environmental friendly mode of transport that will provide a safe, secure and stable mode of transport.

This major infrastructure development will give a boost to religious tourism, which will give a fillip to the economic development in the region and lead to the creation of multiple employment opportunities as well. "Foundation stone of road widening projects worth around Rs 1,000 crore will also be laid during the visit.

The two road widening projects - from Mana to Mana Pass (NH07) and from Joshimath to Malari (NH107B) - shall be another step towards providing last-mile all-weather road connectivity to our border areas. Apart from boosting connectivity, these projects will also prove beneficial from a strategic point of view as well," the PMO said in a statement.

Kedarnath and Badrinath are one of the most important Hindu shrines. The area is also known for one of the most revered Sikh pilgrim sites - Hemkund Sahib.

The connectivity projects being undertaken shows the Prime Minister's commitment to ease access and improve basic infrastructure in places of religious significance.