By Our Staff Reporter
Rudraprayag, 22 Aug: The first and second phase of Kedarnath Yatra is over, even as the administration has begun preparing for the third phase of the journey. The process of pilgrims coming to Kedarnath continues even in the rainy season but the chopper services had been given a break in view of inclement weather for safety reasons. A large number of devotees are still expected to reach Kedarnath in the remaining season as the monsoon subsides.
After the yatra reopens, the operation of heli- services to Kedarnath will also resume from 5 September. By 5 September, all the heli-services are expected to resume operations for the Kedarnath Shrine. The administration has also started preparing for the third phase of the journey at its level. In the months of May and June, about nine lakh pilgrims reached Kedarnath Dham. While more than one lakh devotees have reached Kedarnath so far in the second phase of the Yatra in the months of July and August.
In such a situation, the number of passengers coming to Kedarnath in the past four months is beyond ten lakh, twenty thousand. There are still more than two months left for the third phase of the journey.
On 26 October, the portals of Kedarnath Dham are scheduled to be closed on the festival of Bhaiya Dooj. Around three lakh pilgrims are expected to come to Kedarnath in the remaining season.
The monsoon is still active but the arrival of pilgrims is continuing. Roads are also getting closed and reopened due to heavy rains, but the district administration is monitoring every situation. Two more months are left and it is expected that the number of passengers will increase. It is estimated that this time the travel figure will cross 13 lakhs, for which preparations have been made.
