Dehradun: As revered Char-Dham pilgrimage in Uttarakhand is all set to be commenced tomorrow, on Friday, 10 May with the portal opening of Gangotri, Yamunotri and Kedarnath shrines, Indian Meteorological department (IMD) at Dehradun sees no excessive rainfall or extreme weather conditions which often disrupt travel in the hills, particularly when all the four shrines are located in higher Himalayan region of the state.
Since Uttarakhand state has been grappling with the raging forest fire in recent weeks, so IMD, last week, came up with good news predicting rainfall in major parts of Uttarakhand. According to IMD, rain prediction brings not only the respite for soaring temperature and forest fires, Char-Dham pilgrims can enjoy nice weather too. Bikram Singh, director, IMD Dehradun said, “We have predicted light to moderate rainfall and thunderstorms across the state 7 May onwards which facilitates pleasing travel to the Char-Dham pilgrims when temperature in higher hills was exceeding normal limits after forest fire incidents.
According to Bikram Singh, the rainfall can halt the travel on Char-Dham route only for 1-2 hours during rainfall. He said, “With the help of an early warning system, we inform the media and tourism department about changing weather patterns five days in advance. I advise pilgrims to follow these weather guidelines and avoid traveling during downpour and thunderstorms.” He further said, “In all the districts falling on the yatra routes, the downpour is predicted only for 1-2 hours so pilgrims can halt at their places to avoid landslides and road blockage and maintain a distance from rivers and streams. “Yet, during monsoon, sudden occurrence of active system and western disturbance may take place, causing excessive rains” he added.
This year, the state tourism department has added some advanced technology for immediate weather updates on its web portal. Ankit Garg, an IT cell officer, tourism department, informed, “We have introduced Application program interceptor (API) on Char-Dham web portal which updates the weather information every second. It is visible to everyone visiting this portal.” When asked about using SMS alerts to the pilgrims, he said, “It takes time and becomes irrelevant after 2-3 hours. API locates the pilgrim and sends the weather updates immediately about cloudy sky, thunderstorm, rain, etc. It is a far better system that we introduced after our collaboration with IMD in the month of March-April this year.”
The administration is all geared up to facilitate the pilgrims during rough weather or the emergency situations. Sobat Singh Rana, district tourism officer, Tehri (falls on Gangotri, Yamunotri yatra route) said, “Rains are like boon. It would help extinguish the forest fire and bring temperature low, which will help making yatra a pleasurable experience. We have formed teams with the help of administration to meet the emergency situations caused by landslides and road blockage. Our teams will be deployed in advance at the places where rains are predicted.”
To meet the emergencies, the tourism department, disaster management teams and local administration is working in collaboration in the state. As Badrinath falls in the Chamoli district, Vijendra Pandey, district tourism department Chamoli, said, “We are working in collaboration with local administration which has appointed sector officers on the yatra route to monitor landslides and road blockage. These officers are working 24×7 for safe travel in the hills. Apart from this, our department is extending the shed to save the pilgrims from the rain who lined up in a queue for darshan in Badrinath shrine.”
As per the tourism department Char-Dham yatra portal, the weather conditions in Kedarnath are favourable on May 10, at the day of portal opening ceremony. It shows current Weather, on May 9, 2024, mostly sunny with a temperature of 9°C and forecast on May 10 is partly sunny with a high of 10°C and a low of 5°C temperature. While in Yamunotri for 10 May, it shows “Generally cloudy sky with possibility of light rain or thunderstorm”. Same is predicted for Gangotri shrine on portal opening date scheduled on 10 May.
Yesterday, while reviewing the preparations for Char-Dham pilgrimage, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami instructed to strengthen the information system for information related to weather conditions in shrines.
Uttarakhand: Clear weather in the beginning of Char-Dham yatra; pilgrims can travel safely in hills
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09.05.2024
Dehradun: As revered Char-Dham pilgrimage in Uttarakhand is all set to be commenced tomorrow, on Friday, 10 May with the portal opening of Gangotri, Yamunotri and Kedarnath shrines, Indian Meteorological department (IMD) at Dehradun sees no excessive rainfall or extreme weather conditions which often disrupt travel in the hills, particularly when all the four shrines are located in higher Himalayan region of the state.
Since Uttarakhand state has been grappling with the raging forest fire in recent weeks, so IMD, last week, came up with good news predicting rainfall in major parts of Uttarakhand. According to IMD, rain prediction brings not only the respite for soaring temperature and forest fires, Char-Dham pilgrims can enjoy nice weather too. Bikram Singh, director, IMD Dehradun said, “We have predicted light to moderate rainfall and thunderstorms across the state 7 May onwards which facilitates pleasing travel to the Char-Dham pilgrims when temperature in higher hills was exceeding normal limits after forest fire incidents.
According to Bikram Singh, the rainfall can halt the........
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