Army to start clearing snow from Hemkunt Sahib route from April 20

Chamoli (Uttarakhand) [India], April 16 : A team of the Army will conduct a special operation to clear the snow-clogged route leading to Gurdwara Sri Hemkund Sahib in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, officials said on Monday.
According to officials, the work to clear the snow and make the trek to the Hemkund Sahib pilgrimage site through the heap of snow will begin on April 20.
Currently, the pilgrimage is covered by 12 to 15 feet of snow.
According to the Hemkund Gurudwara Trust, this year the army soldiers were scheduled to start snow clearance work on April 15 but because of the Lok Sabha polls on April 19 in Uttarakhand, now work will start on April 20.
Soldiers will leave for Ghagaria, where they will make their base in the Gurudwara complex and go up every day to cut snow and make the road accessible.
This year, the Uttarakhand government and Shri Hemkunt Sahib Trust have declared the date of opening the doors of Shri Hemkunt Sahib for the pilgrimage on May 25.
Narinderjit Singh Bindra, head of the Gurdwara Sri Hemkund Sahib Management Trust, said the road to the shrine was covered by 10-ft snow on the Atlakoti glacier.
"The shrine itself is covered by 8-12 feet of snow, while the lake on whose banks it is situated is covered with a layer of snow," he pointed out.