By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun 7 Aug: The BJP has expressed its gratitude to all the rescue agencies and Chief Minister Dhami for saving the lives of thousands of people in the recent disaster by very efficient handling of the rescue operations in Kedar Valley. Senior party MLA from Dharampur (Dehradun) Vinod Chamoli expressed confidence that soon, with the cooperation of the public, the state will be able to resume the Char Dham Yatra to Kedarnath.
Chamoli noted that the country is facing the brunt of disaster all around in the ongoing Monsoon season and that Uttarakhand is no exception. But the result of the splendid rescue operation conducted in the state under the able leadership of CM Pushkar Singh Dhami is that the state managed to evacuate more than 16,000 people safely. To make this possible, the police administration and disaster agencies have worked together day and night. Also, the cooperation given by the local people and various social organisations in the campaign played a crucial role in effective dealing with this crisis.
Chamoli insisted that the first priority of the government was to save the people trapped in the disaster and now that this has been achieved, the next the priority is to resume the Char Dham Yatra soon. This is the reason why the resumption of the helicopter services to Kedarnath with a discount of 25 percent for the pilgrims is a highly encouraging development. Resumption of the Yatra on foot remains the biggest challenge, because more than 75 percent of the pedestrian route is damaged. However, the CM has taken this as a challenge and has set a target of one week to start the journey by making best use of latest technology and labour.
Chamoli expressed confidence that once again the journey will become easy for the devotees in the stipulated time, which will help in increasing the economy of the state.
He said that the state has been successful in dealing with the disaster crisis and now it is time to recover from it. Therefore, the leaders should give constructive cooperation, avoiding rhetoric for political gain in the best interest of the state.
