Hemkund Sahib pilgrimage from May 20, Army clearing trek

Amritsar, April 30

To facilitate the pilgrimage to Gurdwara Sri Hemkund Sahib, Army jawans started clearing the passage engulfed with heavy snow. The pilgrimage is scheduled to start from May 20, subject to the weather conditions.

Will meet target

A four-foot-wide path has been cleared at the Atlakoti glacier. The work is in full swing and the entire pedestrian path will be ready before May 20. Narinderjit Bindra, Gurdwara panel head

Narinderjit Singh Bindra, head of the Gurdwara Sri Hemkund Sahib Management Trust, said the road to the shrine was covered by 10-foot snow on the Atlakoti glacier.

The shrine itself is covered by 8-12 foot snow while the lake on whose banks it is situated is covered with a layer of snow.

Bindra said a four-foot wide passage had been cleared at the Atlakoti glacier. “The work is in full swing and the pedestrian path will be ready before May 20. The operation of clearing snow was supposed to start by April 20, but it had to be postponed due to a fresh snowfall,” he said.

Led by Havildar Malkit Singh and Harsewak Singh, around 25 jawans of the 418 Independent Engineering Corps have been entrusted with the task to clear snow-clogged trek route. They are being assisted by the shrine trust ‘sewadars’ and shrine manager Gurnam Singh, who have also been monitoring other arrangements, including langar for the jawans.

Located at a height of over 15,000 feet in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, Hemkund Sahib is the highest Sikh shrine in the world.