Floods affect pilgrimage to Gurdwara Sri Hemkund Sahib, Char Dham in Uttarakhand

Amritsar: The pilgrimage to Gurdwara Sri Hemkund Sahib and Char Dham in Uttarakhand has been affected due to the monsoon fury.

Around 1.43 lakh pilgrims have visited Gurdwara Sri Hemkund Sahib from May 20 to August 20 so far.

Narinderjit Singh Bindra, chief, Gurdwara Sri Hemkund Sahib Management Trust, said there was a huge influx of pilgrims before the onset of monsoon.

“Due to flooding, the number of pilgrims have reduced considerably. At present, an average of 250 to 300 pilgrims from Northern India are arriving daily. Under normal circumstances, the daily average is around 1,500 pilgrims.” “The snow surrounding the shrine located at 15,000 feet has melted,” he said.

This pilgrimage will end in October when portals of Gurdwara Sri Hemkund Sahib will be closed.

Sewa Singh, manager, Gurdwara Sri Gobind Ghat, said the floods not only affected the pilgrimage to Gurdwara Sri Hemkund Sahib, but also to the Char Dham.