Hemkund Sahib yatra halted after fresh snow

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 25

The pilgrimage to Sri Hemkund Sahib was disrupted today due to inclement weather conditions.

The pilgrims, who were at Gobindghat or Ghagharia, were advised to stay put due to continuous snowfall that had clogged the trek route.

For pilgrims’ safety

Gurdwara Sri Hemkund Sahib trust head Narinderjit Singh Bindra said a jatha had left from Gobindghat, six km ahead of the shrine, but the fresh snowfall near the glacier forced the authorities to halt the yatra for the safety of the devotees.

The Uttarakhand Government has halted the yatra temporarily for the two days — May 24 and 25 — amid heavy rain and snowfall.

Located at a height of over 15,000 feet on the banks of a Himalayan lake, Hemkund Sahib is the highest Sikh shrine in the world. The portals of the gurdwara were opened on May 20.

At present, the path to the shrine was enveloped by a thick blanket of snow on the Atlakoti glacier

Gurdwara Sri Hemkund Sahib trust head Narinderjit Singh Bindra said a jatha had left from Gobindghat, six km ahead of the shrine, but the fresh snowfall near the glacier forced the authorities to halt the yatra for the safety of the devotees.

“The spell of snow began late last evening and continued till morning. The weather forecast says that such weather will prevail for two days. Considering the slippery conditions, the pilgrims were stopped from moving towards the shrine. The decision about the resumption of the pilgrimage will be taken till there is improvement in the weather conditions,” he said.

To facilitate pilgrims, Army jawans of the 418 Independent Engineering Corps with the assistance of the Gurdwara Sri Hemkund Sahib Management Trust members were on the job of clearing the snow-clogged passage.

Meanwhile, the local district administration has imposed a ban on children, sick, having respiratory disorder, and adults over 60 years of age for their safety in the wake of bad weather on the way to the gurdwara.

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