A massive avalanche struck the Gandhi Sarovar located four kilometres above the Kedarnath Dham in Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand on Sunday morning, however, no loss of lives or property was reported in the incident.
The avalanche, which occurred at around 5 AM near the Chorabari glacier, was captured by devotees on their mobile phone cameras, and showed a gigantic cloud of snow rushing down the mountain with speed and halting after falling into a deep ravine.
काल से वो क्या डरे, जो भक्त हो महाकाल का।
हर हर महादेव शंभो pic.twitter.com/CLRXT4n5dK
— श्री केदारनाथ (@ShriKedarnath) June 30, 2024
According to officials, the avalanche occurred in the upper region of the Gandhi Sarovar in Chorabari glacier, below the snow-covered Meru-Sumeru mountain range located at the upper end of the Kedarnath valley.
Rudraprayag District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar said there was no loss of life or property due to the avalanche and assured that the entire area, including the Kedarnath valley, is safe.
Gopal Singh Rauthan, an employee of Garhwal Mandal Development Corporation, who was present in the temple when the avalanche occurred, said the devotees witnessed the jaw-dropping natural phenomenon with utter curiosity for around five minutes.
The temple currently has a significant presence of devotees as the Char Dham Yatra, to Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines in Uttarakhand, is underway.
Notably, another avalanche had occurred in the Chorabari glacier on June 8.
In 2022, three avalanches hit the area in the months of September and October. Five such incidents of avalanches were reported in the Chorabari glacier in May and June 2023. Following this, scientists from the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing and the Wadia Institute took stock of the entire situation by conducting terrestrial and aerial surveys of the area.
The team of scientists had then described these incidents as “normal” in the Himalayan region, but they had emphasised on improving security in the Kedarnath Dham area.
(With PTI inputs)
