Helipad at Kedarnath to help speed up rebuilding works
Tribune News Service
Dehradun, October 15
Chief Minister Harish Rawat today inaugurated several reconstructed works at Kedarnath and laid the foundation stones of various schemes.
The Chief Minister inaugurated completed works of Rs 23 crore and laid the foundation stones of various schemes of more than Rs 92 crore. The works inaugurated included an MI 26 helipad that would facilitate supply of heavy machines for speedy reconstruction works in the Kedarnath shrine area.
Other works inaugurated included IT projects such as a WiFi and local intranet network to be implemented by the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) to strengthen the communication network and provide security and facilities to pilgrims in the Kedar Valley, Shri Kedar Rescue Android Application, Radio Frequency Identification trekking of mule and horses, and an LED digital display board for weather information, besides a pilgrims reception centre and a restaurant.
The Chief Minister laid the foundation stones of 113 buildings to be constructed by the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering to be used to rehabilitate disaster-hit people, particularly priests of the shrine and other property owners. These buildings would be constructed at a cost of Rs 41.95 crore. He also laid the foundation stone for the construction of the first, second and third security walls of a three-tier flood protection system for the security of pilgrims and assets of the Kedarnath shrine. A budget of Rs 28.25 crore has been sanctioned for the projects.
The Chief Minister also laid the stones of ghats for pilgrims at the confluence of the Mandakini and Sarswati rivers at the Kedarnath shrine; a Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee office; Bhog Mandir and temple accommodation, a bailey bridge on the Sarswati, near Hotel Punjab Sindh Awas; another bailey bridge on the Sarswati near the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam guest house in the Kedarnath Dham, construction of a 50-feet footpath from the Sarswati bailey bridge to the Kedarnath temple and renovation of a sermon hall of the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee. The government has sanctioned Rs 8.85 crore for all these projects.
