Record 13 lakh bookings for Chardham Pilgrimage in eight days
The State Tourism Department called it a sign of record breaking flow of pilgrims to the four shrines as the pilgrimage season is scheduled to start on May 10.
A crucial bridge connecting hundred of villages on the Sino-Indian border and major pilgrimage centre Gangotri collapsed for the second time in less than four months at Uttarkashi on Sunday. The Gangotri bridge had earlier collapsed on 14 December last year, when two overloaded vehicles crossed it at the same time. This time an overloaded dumper damaged the bridge.
The situation is tense as just 15 days is left for the start of the Char Dham Yatra to Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. The Uttarkashi district administration has started the process of charting an alternative route to establish connectivity.
The bridge located in Gangotri, on the Uttarakashi-Gangotri highway, was constructed in 2013 after the floods swept away the old bridge. The 190 feet Bailey Gangotri bridge, on the Aasi Ganga river, not only connects remote villages but also many border posts of the Indian Army on the Sino-Indian border. Movement of traffic was severely disrupted on Sunday.
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