Pushkar Singh Dhami pays homage to victims on 10th anniversary of Kedarnath flood

Dehradun: On the tenth anniversary of the massive flash flood that killed thousands in Kedarnath, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami Friday offered prayers at the Himalayan temple and paid homage to the victims.

Accompanied by Badrinath-Kedarnath temple committee chairman Ajendra Ajay and a host of priests, Dhami offered prayers inside the sanctum sanctorum of the Kedarnath temple in Rudraprayag district.

He also greeted the Char Dham pilgrims and took part in a yagna performed outside the temple by teerth purohits (pilgrimage priests).

A devastating deluge hit Kedarnath on June 16-17 in 2013, when the Chorabari Lake collapsed due to a cloudburst, triggerring a flash flood and landslides.

The disaster took place when the pilgrimage to the temple was in full swing. It rendered thousands homeless, while over 3,500 people went missing and nearly 5,000 were killed.

The skeletal remains of people killed in the disaster continued to be recovered from areas near the temple even years after the tragedy which is also known as the 'Himalayan Tsunami' because of the scale of damage to life and property.

The disaster did not just wash away roads and bridges but entire human settlements on its way to the Himalayan temple, including the bustling hamlet of Rambara which used to be the most popular resting place for pilgrims en route to Kedarnath.

It has taken the authorities years to rebuild the lost infrastructure in Kedarnath and develop improved facilities for pilgrims.