The Kedarnath Dham yatra in Uttarakhand, India, has resumed after being halted due to adverse weather conditions. The Uttarakhand Director General of Police, Ashok Kumar, announced that the pilgrimage had restarted after improvements in weather conditions in Rudraprayag. The police have allowed only those with prior registration of travel and hotel bookings to move to Rudraprayag, while others have been stopped at Srinagar. The entire district has been divided into five sectors, with sub-inspector rank officers and Circle Officer deployed to manage the traffic system. The India Meteorological Department has issued a warning for heavy snowfall and rain in Kedarnath and Badrinath areas for the next seven days, and security has been strengthened in view of the same. The doors of Kedarnath Dham were opened for pilgrims on Tuesday morning, and the abode of Lord Shiva was decorated with 20 quintals of flowers ahead of the event. The Char Dham Yatra began from Yamunotri Dham on the auspicious occasion of Akshay Tritiya, with the first batch of pilgrims leaving Haridwar on Saturday. Earlier, Char Dham Yatris were being stopped at various places and Badrinath Yatris going towards Kedarnath Dham were being stopped at Srinagar Garhwal following instructions from the weather department.
The weather department had issued alerts for heavy snowfall and rain in the Kedarnath and Badrinath areas for the next seven days. As a result, pilgrims were being stopped at various places to ensure their safety. However, with the improvement in weather conditions, the Kedarnath Dham yatra has now been resumed, and pilgrims with prior registration of travel and hotel booking are being allowed to move to Rudraprayag while others are being stopped at Srinagar.