This year low snowfall has proved a boon for the reconstruction work at Kedarnath. The development work in the flash-flood hit valley is going on uninterrupted even in winters. This season, snowfall has taken place in the holy township only thrice- twice in December and once in January. As Kedarnath reconstruction work is in the priority of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, state government makes it a point to inspect work at regular basis.

Even on Sunday, Uttarakhand Chief secretary Utpal Kumar was in Kedarnath, in district Ruderprayag, to take a look on the ongoing works. The Uttarkashi based Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) is involved in the reconstruction work in Kedarnath since 2014. NIM’s coordinator Sobhan Bisht says, “We saw lowest snowfall taking place in Kedarnath this season.”

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The observation is based on the four winters the reconstruction staff has spent in the holy township. The team had to deploy heavy manpower for clearing snow every winter, but this time the case was completely different. And it suited the reconstruction team!

This season the first snowfall took place on 18 November and second on 12 December. This year heavy snowfall took place on January 24. These days the construction work trek route connecting Garudchatti is going on at full swing. The construction work of houses for priests, widening of road and construction of ‘Ghat’ on the banks of Saraswati river are presently underway in Kedarnath.

Chief Secretary Utpal Kumar said, “It is the priority of the state government to ensure better facilities and enhanced security for pilgrims visiting Kedarnath in the coming tourism season.” Interacting with various agencies involved in revamp work, the Chief Secretary asked for meeting the deadline by increasing working staff on clear day- to make up for affected work in case of snowfall.

Presently over 300 persons are providing their services in the reconstruction work in Kedarnath. When the temperature is low the reconstruction team abandons the cement related work. Otherwise the works goes on continuous in challenging condition.