The pilgrimage to famous Sikh shrine Hemkund Sahib in Uttarakhand Himalayas, suspended since the June 16 natural calamity, resumed on Saturday with Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna flagging off a batch of nearly 100 pilgrims from Govindghat.
"The yatra to Hemkund Sahib suspended since the natural calamity hit the state on June 16 resumed at 9 am," vice chairman of Shri Hemkund Sahib Management Trust Narendrajit Singh Bindra said.
The flag-off took place after "bhog" and a ceremonial recitation of Akhand Path, he said, adding the portals of the shrine located at a height of 15,200 ft will reopen tomorrow when the first batch of pilgrims arrives there, he said.
Though damage to the shrine devoted to the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh was not as extensive as in Kedarnath, a 6 km stretch of the trek route to the high altitude Gurudwara was washed away in the June 16 deluge.
With the damaged pedestrian route completely repaired, thanks to massive restoration efforts put in by Hemkund Sahib Management Trust, the yatra was ceremoniallly resumed today, Bindra said.
However, as a precautionary measure, the number of pilgrims to the shrine will be kept limited to about a 100 initially which will gradually be increased in the course of time, he said.
Resumption of the yatra to the Sikh shrine is yet another indication of things gradually getting back on track in rain-ravaged Uttarakhand. Prayers at Kedarnath, which bore the brunt of the June calamity, resumed on September 11.
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