Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday visited Kedarnath Dham and is expected to inaugurate the newly constructed building of Vivekananda Hospital here. The visit is part of the ongoing Char Dham Yatra season, when lakhs of pilgrims from all parts of the country are coming to Uttarakhand to take blessings from the shrine in the Himalaya.
While here, the Chief Minister visited the Kedarnath temple and saw the various arrangements that have been made for pilgrims to visit the temple. He also visited the medical, accommodation, sanitation and disaster management facilities in the area of the temple. The officials who accompanied the Chief Minister briefed him about the smooth running of the yatra and the various infrastructure development works in the Kedarnath area.
The new building of Vivekananda Hospital, which has been built to reinforce medical services at the tourist pilgrimage centre in the high-altitude region, is one of the important features of the visit. The hospital will be making the pilgrims, locals and those involved in the reconstruction of the Kedarnath and tourism activities receive better emergency healthcare support.
Kedarnath is located at a height of more than 11,000 ft in the district of Rudraprayag, where harsh weather conditions and heightened pilgrim population are seen during the yatra season. High altitude combined with strenuous trekking conditions can cause breathing difficulties, dehydration, fatigue and heart issues. The government feels improved health facilities are needed to keep visitors safe.
The new hospital building would feature cutting-edge medical technology, emergency treatment rooms, and improved patient care amenities, according to officials. The administration expects that the better infrastructure will contribute to immediate medical services in case of emergency and minimize the danger to pilgrims in the pilgrimage season.
Chief Minister Dhami said that the state government will work towards better facilities for devotees at the Char Dham shrines. He further stated that the government continues to prioritize various aspects of infrastructure development, such as healthcare, connectivity, disaster preparedness, and tourism, in the Himalayan region.
After being devastated by floods in 2013, the reconstruction and redevelopment work of Kedarnath has acquired momentum in the past few years. Ever since, there has been a priority on reconstruction of roads, development of pilgrimage infrastructure, expansion of healthcare facilities and disaster response systems in the Uttarakhand government.
The inauguration of the Vivekananda Hospital building is another significant gesture towards making Kedarnath safer and more accessible for pilgrims, according to the officials. The government hopes that during the Char Dham Yatra season, the devotees will get proper medical facilities and emergency assistance.
