Bad weather halts Kedarnath yatra

Yatra to Kedarnath was halted on Sunday following fresh snowfall at the famous Himalayan shrine and adjoining areas which bore the brunt of last year’s calamity.

‘The entire Kedar valley received fresh snowfall since early this morning bringing the pilgrimage to a halt,’ Rudraprayag Superintendent of Police Barinderjit Singh informed.

The devotees have been asked to stay in Sonprayag and wait for the weather to clear up when the pilgrimage may be resumed, he said.

Yatra to Kedarnath had begun on 4 May after its portals were reopened for devotees after a six-month winter break when the area remains snowbound.

Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj, who was scheduled to perform live at the high altitude shrine on Sunday is still in Dehradun as his chopper could not take off for Kedarnath due to overcast and low visibility conditions in the city and snowfall in the hills, Tourism Secretary Umakant Panwar said. The maestro may perform at the shrine on Monday if the weather permits, he said. However, that seems unlikely with the MeT office here predicting moderate thundershowers on the Char Dham (Badrinath, Gangotri, Yamunotri and Kedarnath) route and snowfall at places located above 3500 metres for the next three days.