Last
year on 15th June, 2013, I joined the Department of Forestry and
Natural Resources, H.N.B. Garhwal University, Sringar, Uttarakhand, as a
researcher with a lot of enthusiasm to explore the Himalayan biodiversity,
topography and spirituality. Before joining
the department, I had only read about the mountains, not much experienced about
the Himalayan terrain because I was born and educated in the plains of Uttar
Pradesh and Delhi. The Srinagar town is
situated on the bank of Alaknanda river and it is the heart of Garhwal
Himalaya. It was my first day at the University (16th June, 2013), I
saw terrible picture due to heavy rain in the campus and Sringar town.
Alaknanda river was flowing in hazardous condition. The next day, it became even
more horrible, and parts of the main road and the stadium of the university
campus (Chauras campus) was washed away in the Alaknanda and Srinagar town was flooding.
Our Forest Research Centre (FRC) was also flooded. After flood, we found a dead
body in the debris of FRC. I heard the shout of media and people about cloud burst
in Kedarnath valley.
I saw the ghostly
condition of local people and pilgrims in the entire Garhwal Himalaya. Whole
nation was praying for them. According to state government estimates released
last year, the cloudburst over Uttarakhand affected 4,200 villages, washed away
145 bridges, destroyed 2,302 km of roads, damaged 2,679 pucca and 681 kuccha
houses, and rendered 8,716 animals lost. The number of lives lost was put at
more than 900, injured at 4,463 and missing at over 6,000. A year on, it is
clear on the ground that the figures come nowhere close to the actual number of
human lives lost. As of today, conventional estimates put the number of missing
or dead at more than 12,000. After one year, more than 168 human skeletons and rotten corpses are still
found in Kedar valley. It was most dangerous experience of my life and this
Himalayan Tsunami marked a horrible memory forever in my mind. During last one
year, I learned and explored a lot about Garhwal Himalaya. But still I had eagerness to visit Kedarnath
Shrine and finally, I decided to complete my keenness.
Crashed army helicopter during rescue operation in Kedarnath valley |
I started my journey
from Srinagar (Garhwal) to Kedarnath valley on the morning of 3rd
July, 2014, without informing any of my friends and relatives. I was asking my
friends many times to make a plan for the journey through the valley, but they
had memories of the catastrophe of 16th and 17th June,
2013, in Kedarnath valley. They told me;
at this movement journey will not be safe and we will plan after monsoon or
next year. People have still not been able to put behind memories of last
year’s calamity. I think macabre image of last year’s flashflood still hunt
them. I hope that with the passage of time, the memories will fade and people
will feel confident to undertake the journey.
When my friends came to know about my journey of the valley, they became
worried. They called me many times and asked about my wellbeing. The
administration has made it compulsory for pilgrims going to Kedarnath valley to
register themselves with biometric identification at Guptkashi and Sonpryag town.
They also have to clear a medical test before proceeding further. I reached
Sonpryag at 5 O’clock in the evening of 3rd of July, and completed a
biometric registration and medical formalities. The police record the names of
pilgrims at five points in the entire journey, viz. Sonprayag, Gaurikund,
Bheembali, Lincholi and Kedarnath shrine.
It was 5 am on 4th
July at Sonprayag in Kedarnath valley. The cloudy-skied monsoon morning was
filled with chirping of birds. There was a cool breeze blowing all over the place.
But the town
missed the buzz of locals and pilgrims on their way to Kedarnath that characterized
the place till last year. The 16th and 17th June, 2013,
flash flood in Kedar valley damaged Sonprayag, nestled at the confluence of the
Basuki and Mandakini rivers, into a pile of debris. This was the last point of
motorable road on the way to Kedarnath shrine, the revered Hindu shrine that
too was not spared of the wrath of the natural disaster. I started my 24 km
long trek from Sonprayag to Kedarnath, which had to be negotiated on foot.
Before the June disaster, the last motorable road was upto Gaurikund, 5 km from
Sonprayag. I found, the vehicles of pilgrims
who were killed or badly affected during the disaster were still there lying on
the way to Sonprayag and Gaurikund.
Before the disaster, Gaurikhund was
a spot where pilgrims started their sacred journey for the Kedarnath shrine on
foot. But now it was a sleepy town. Government officials took my entry at
Gaurikund, after that I started my next way, walking some 1 km, found remains
of crashed army helicopter. The next stop Jungle Chati was approximately 5 km
upstream, where GMVN officials were offering free biscuit and tea in the morning
for the pilgrims. It took me around 3 hours to reach Bhimbali, named after the Hindu
epic Mahabharata character Bhim. Thus it was third base camp where authorities
had provided free food and first-aid. In Bhimbali, I took a cup of tea and biscuit
from the base camp. After taking half an hour of break, at 8.30 am, I started
from Bhimbali base camp and reached Rambara within 20 minutes. There used to be
more than 100 shops and lodges at Rambara to serve the pilgrims travelling to
Kedarnath. The temple destination used to be at a distance of only seven
kilometers from there. Besides, Rambara was also a transit point where mules
and kandi (basket to carry people) operators would provide their services to
the pilgrims. Now there was no single sign of human settlements, and it looked
like an ethereal place. It took me
two-and-a-half hours through slant and slippery tracks to reach the next base
camp at Lincholi. It was an arduous and steep trek on feet. After having
breakfast (Puri, Sabji, Halwa and Tea), I moved on. The next 3 km or so of the
track was being constructed and was muddy and there were remnant snow
accumulated on several places on the track ,
which finally led to an alpine meadow near the last base camp at Kedarnath
Shrine.
The Road Restoration
In
the Kedarnath valley, the national highway from Rudrapryag to Sonpryag was
completely restored and metalled at the time of my journey. Nevertheless, scars
of the previous disaster could well be found along the way as landslides and
debris of destruction were scattered all over the area. Numerous bridges,
hotels, homes, shops, schools etc. which got washed away or destroyed by the
flash flood or got covered by debris brought by it were seen. The motorable
road between Sonprayag and Gaurikhund was in the process of restoration. This
road was completely washed out at many places.
New foot road construction at Kedarnath, at distance of 2 km from shrine
|
Earlier, the track for pilgrims from
Gaurikund to Kedarnath was 14 km long, but now the pilgrims have to trek more
than 24 km to reach Kedarnath. The old 7 km track from Gaurikund to Rambara has
been restored, while a new track has been laid from Rambara through Lincholi
for the Kedarnath temple. There are street lights, since electricity poles and
wires had been restored which was damaged last year. Lincholi route has steep
slopes and it is more physically demanding as compared to the old route, which
can cause problems to the aged and the week. Snow was still present in the
area. The soil was wet. People walked gingerly on the roads fearing the earth
under their feet might slide. The old track from Rambara to Kedarnath had been
completely washed away, which was on the left bank, and a new track was laid on
the other side of the Mandakni river. The new route was still under
construction at many places. A temporary
bridge has been built at the site in Rambara to cross the river and reach the
new track on the right bank.
Basic amenities on the way for
pilgrims
A
year after the devastation which hit the Kedarnath valley and Kedarnath temple
town in the higher echelons of Himalayas, tell-tale signs of the tragedy can be
witnessed everywhere. But new construction and reconstruction work has been
undertaken in so far to rehabilitate the damaged public and commercial
buildings in Kedarnath valley. Makeshift tents have been pitched at several
places on route to the temple to accommodate about a thousand people. Tourists
are sleeping in pre-fabricated huts and tents. Some of the medical facilities like
make-shift medical camp at Kedarnath, portable oxygen cylinders and medical
stock were available for pilgrims. Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) is
providing free meal and medical facilities. One helipad has been built at
Lincholi and another near the Kedarnath shrine; which is also a base camp for
the pilgrims. There are base camps, offices of GMVN and temple committee near
the helipads.
The camp site at Lincholi, at a distance
of more than 3 km from Kedarnath shrine
|
Restoration of the shrine
When
I visited the temple, a team of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) was
removing debris from backyard of the shrine. A foot road was still under
construction in front of the shrine. There were many labourers working
throughout the day in the Kedar Valley, undertaking various tasks such as
sweeping, clearing debris, building bridges and carrying out construction
work. Whereas; GMVN is carrying out
construction of huts and tents. Although there were two available helipads
nearby to serve the shrine, workers and the locals were carrying logistics and
construction materials like cement, steel rods, tents, benches etc. manually on
foot or by mules from Sonprayag, without getting the helicopter service. This
was greatly reducing the efficiency and speed of the entire restoration
process, as well as the service to the pilgrimage.
Construction activity and debris in Kedarnath shrine area |
The shrine remained
largely undamaged after a boulder, which some believe was divine intervention
and is now being worshipped, saved the temple building from being smashed to
smithereens like the surrounding pilgrim
lodges. The cleaning up of debris and razing of damaged buildings in
flood-affected Kedarnath area could not be started. Obviously, it required no
emphasis that restoration and normalizing life in the Kedar valley is a
challenging task, probably nothing less than the battle or a revolution.
Disaster has derailed the life completely in the shrine town and the whole area
is adversely affected. Normalizing life will take quite a long time, even which
is subjected to sincere will and positive cooperation of Government, initiatives
of local authorities and peoples, especially the youth. The cleaning up of
debris in the area is going to be a challenging task for the authorities as
debris of more than 50 hotels/ daramshala damaged in the deluge are lying there
on the spot, with a strong possibility of some bodies still being trapped under
them.