Restoration in Progress: A Journey through Kedarnath Valley

Last year on 15^th 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 (16^th 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 3^rd 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 16^th and 17^th 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 3^rd 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 4^th 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 16^th and 17^th 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.