Hemkunt Sahib trust seeks land for base camp

An Uttarakhand-based Sikh trust has asked the state government to allot land to set up a base camp at Gobind Ghat for pilgrims en route the Hemkunt Sahib gurdwara.

An Uttarakhand-based Sikh trust has asked the state government to allot land to set up a base camp at Gobind Ghat for pilgrims en route the Hemkunt Sahib gurdwara.

HT Image

Members of Shri Hemkund Sahib Management Trust (SHSMT) met Uttarakhand chief minister Vijay Bahuguna and urged him to allot land at the earliest.

The immediate request from SHSMT came after the Uttarakhand government recently banned any kind of construction on river banks in the state.

"We have asked the CM that to restart the pilgrimage, we have to rebuild the langar hall, the store to keep rations for at least two months, sarai for pilgrims, parking space for their vehicles and other places which were washed away by the floods," SHSMT vice chairman Narinderjit Singh Bindra told PTI on the phone.

"Considering the change of course of Alaknanda river and the restrictions, we urgently need alternative land for the base camp," he said.

"About 7 km of the trek route from Gobind Ghat to Gobind Dham was completely destroyed and we had to take routes in the jungles," Bindra said.