By Our Staff Reporter
Uttarkashi, 10 Apr: With the Char Dham Yatra set to begin from 30 April, the district administration in Uttarkashi is giving final touches to the preparations for Yatra to Gangotri and Yamunotri. Heli services to Yamunotri Dham are being planned for the upcoming season. In this connection, a successful landing of a helicopter has been achieved at the Yamunotri helipad.
A helicopter of the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) made a successful landing on the helipad under construction near Garud Ganga in Yamunotri Dham. According to the information, the helicopter of UCADA was trying to land for two days and, yesterday, it landed successfully on the helipad. The implementing agency in this case is Bridge, Ropeway, Tunnel and Other Infrastructure Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited (BRIDCUL) which is constructing the helipad near Garud Ganga of Yamunotri Dham at a cost of about 60 lakhs on behalf of UCADA.
The surface work of the helipad has been completed. After this, an attempt was made by UCADA to land the helicopter there to get information about the conditions and weather and winds. According to the information, the helicopter first tried to land on Tuesday but had to return due to technical reasons. After that, the helicopter made a successful landing yesterday afternoon. After waiting for some time at the helipad, the helicopter returned. Barkot police station in-charge Deepak Kathait confirmed this and said that the helicopter landing trial has been successful at the helipad built near Garud Ganga. Yamunotri Temple Committee spokesperson Purushottam Uniyal said that the start of helicopter service at the Dham will prove to be a boon for the Char Dham Yatra and emergency situations.
Along with this, the irrigation department has started the levelling work by removing the debris near the temple with the help of labourers in Yamunotri Dham. During the disaster in the Yamuna River at Yamunotri Dham in the month of July last year, there was a significant damage to the temples in Garamkund and Janakichatti. After the closure of the portals by the administration, there was a delay in resumption of the protective work there, while now a few days before the start of the Char Dham Yatra, an amount of about Rs 18 crores has been approved. After this, the irrigation department has started the levelling work in the Dham through labourers, but the priests are expressing their displeasure over the delay. Yamunotri Temple Committee spokesperson Purushottam Uniyal, Temple Committee Vice President Sanjeev Uniyal, Joint Secretary Gaurav Uniyal, Panch Pada Committee Secretary Girish Uniyal Manmohan Uniyal, Suresh Uniyal Kuldeep Uniyal, etc., said that flood protection work will not be allowed there without machines.
