By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 9 Aug: Certain objections have been raised in respect of the government decision to resume chopper flights to Kedarnath in view of weather conditions. It may be recalled that, after the huge damage to pedestrian route to Kedarnath in at least 29 places due to heavy rains and cloudburst around a week ago, the Kedarnath Yatra was on hold. Usually, the helicopter sorties to Kedarnath are stopped in July and August in view of heavy rains and foggy weather. The chopper flights are resumed in September and continue almost till Diwali each year before the portals of the temple close for the winter season. During this period, the Kedarnath Yatra continues on foot but, this year, a very large portion of pedestrian route is damaged forcing the government to put a hold on the Yatra even as the Yatra to other three Dhams continues.
Sources said that it will take at least a week before the pedestrian route including an alternate pedestrian route are restored. In between the choppers have been allowed to make sorties to Kedarnath on the orders of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Though the chopper services have resumed and the government has also declared 25 percent subsidy on chopper fare to Kedarnath, there seem to be not many takers. Yesterday, when the chopper service resumed, only 21 pilgrims chose to fly to Kedarnath.
It may be recalled that due to foggy conditions and low visibility in the Kedar Valley because of clouds during the active monsoon period, experts are raising objections to resumption of chopper services during the peak monsoon period. Be it the current director of IMD Centre in Dehradun, Bikram Singh, or the former director of IMD Dehradun, Anand Sharma, both have expressed reservations about chopper flights to Kedarnath in peak monsoon period. Bikram Singh says that in the dense foggy conditions, it is a huge challenge for the pilots to fly in risky zones such as Kedarnath. Anand Sharma, on the other hand, reminds that the weather in Kedarnath changes round the year as it is quite volatile but in the months of July and August, there remains a possibility of strong thunderstorms which increase the risks regarding chopper flights there.
Social activist Anoop Nautiyal reminds that meteorologists have a clear opinion on the risks that chopper flights to Kedarnath in this season carry with them. He has also expressed surprise why the government is so desperate to announce resumption of chopper flights to Kedarnath at this time of the year. In his tweet, he asserts that it is better to be safe than sorry.
