“Not until mid-September or October,” says Urmila Rawat, a teacher who lives in Dharampur, Dehradun who was thinking of heading into the hills for the cherished Chardham Yatra. “Don’t trust the hills, especially if there’s thunder, lightning and rain,” She tells me. It is something she had always heard.
Further afield, at Rishikesh, Biometric Officer Premanand, has finally got a break from a tough schedule. ‘ No sooner had the Yatra season begun, we hardly had time to breathe. It seemed as if everyone was heading to the hills. But no sooner did the first clouds appear signalling the onset of the monsoon, the number of pilgrims is down by some eighty percent.“
This year Uttarakhand’s Chardham Yatra has shattered all previous records as far as the number of pilgrims registering themselves is concerned. Perhaps the rains evoke memories of the June 2013 Kedarnath tragedy. It seems to be on the minds of every visitor. A sudden dip in the numbers is a sad reminder of that public memory is not all that short.
When the signs of that disaster were visible all around, in good weather, people seemed to have forgotten the bad days. But the moment a few wisps of cloud herald rain, the exodus begins as visitor exit these sub-montane river valleys to head to the safety of home and hearth.
Needless to say, for over a month now, the State Machinery has been gearing up to face any eventuality, working on war footing. With hourly weather updates from the Meteorological Department, emergency services on standby, numerous JCBs clearing landslides, landslips and roadblocks in a matter of few hours. In the Meantime, State Disaster Relief Force teams have been stationed at thirty one places in the State, and leaves of field employees cancelled until mid-September. Seventy Four satellite telephones have been handed out by disaster management, if need arises. Yet, pilgrims remain skeptical, not wanting to risk a Yatra during the monsoon.
