Rudraprayag: The girder bridge which provides passage to Char Dham devotees to Garudchatti and Modi cave in Kedarnath Dham has been damaged. The movement of pilgrims on this bridge has been stopped.
In such a situation, the pilgrims have been facing hardships reaching Modi Cave, Garudchatti and Lalit Das Maharaj's ashram located across the Mandakini river.
Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam has set up a tent colony for the pilgrims undertaking Kedarnath Dham Yatra. More than 2000 pilgrims have booked the tent facility in advance.
Besides the pedestrian path near the bridge has also been damaged due to incessant rain and snowfall in the region for the past several days.
The girder bridge over the Mandakini river was damaged, blocking the passage to Lalit Maharaj's ashram as well as Modi cave. Scores of devotees visit the ashram for taking part in the community feating as well as staying there.
Officials from the department concerned said that the girders of the bridge were damaged. Hence, movement on the bridge has been closed. So, pilgrims who want to cross the Mandakini river will now have to take the route behind the Kedarnath shrine temple.
Char Dham Mahapanchayat vice-president Santosh Trivedi said, "The foot overbridge leading up to Modi cave and Garudchatti has been damaged. Pilgrims visiting Modi Cave and Lalit Maharaj Ashram will face a lot of inconveniences due to the non-functional of girder bridge. More than 2000 pilgrims have booked tents in advance for staying there. What will happen to those bookings? Where will the pilgrims stay now?
