Lifting the ban on the yatra, a division bench of the court comprising Chief Justice R S Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma said the pilgrimage will start with restrictions like a daily limit on the number of devotees visiting the temples.
A multi-agency operation to rescue an estimated 34 people trapped inside a big tunnel at Tapovan was carried out overnight after a glacier burst-triggered deluge killed 10 people in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district while over 140 are missing, officials said on Monday.
At the devastated Tapovan power project site rescuers worked nonstop even as the odds of finding the trapped workers alive seemed slim.
While rescue efforts are on in full swing, the narrow tunnel and the massive slush that was brought down by the glacial flood are hampering rescue operations, confirm Swati Bhadauria, the district collector of Chamoli, and Yashwant Singh Chauhan, the superintendent of police.
Several counter-terrorist operations and encounters have taken place in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch this year.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat, who is in Delhi, expressed grief at the loss of lives and announced a compensation of Rs two lakh each to the families of the victims.
Three more bodies were recovered from the debris in the cloudburst-hit villages of Pithoragarh, raising the death toll in rain-related incidents in the state to 18 while searches were on for as many missing people by the army, para-military and police personnel.
Using drones and remote-sensing equipment, rescue teams intensified efforts on Wednesday to reach the 25-35 men trapped in a sludge-choked tunnel since the Uttarakhand glacier disaster three days ago and more than 170 remained missing, hopes of finding them alive fading with every passing hour.
National Disaster Response Force teams were rushed from Delhi to the affected areas in both Pithoragarh and Chamoli districts to help in the rescue operations along with along with State Disaster Response Force, Sashastra Seema Bal and Indo-Tibetan Border Police and local agencies, officials said.
The death toll from the Uttarakhand glacier disaster rose to 31 with five more bodies being recovered, officials said on Tuesday as multiple agencies raced against time to reach about 30 workers trapped inside a tunnel in a power project site and 175 people remained missing.
'Joro shoro se rescue operation chal raha hai.'
All the five passengers were safe.
A woman was buried alive and 15 others were injured when landslides triggered by incessant rains hit Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway in Chamoli district in Uttarakhand on Thursday morning.
A 13.2 MW small hydro project on the Rishiganga river was swept away in the glacier burst in Uttarakhand on Sunday, but there is no danger of floods in the downstream areas as the water level has been contained.
'India has to prepare for future warfare where kinetic use of force at the border will be limited. War will take place in the realms beyond the border.'
The focal point of the multi-agency rescue operation for the last over four days remains the more-than-1.5-km-long "head-race tunnel" of the total 2.5 km of the tubular structure, as every passing minute is mounting concerns over the safety of those trapped inside.
The SP of Chamoli district, which faced the brunt of the glacier break in Uttarakhand, provides insights about the rescue operations.
A group of shepherds were asked to vacate the land by troops of the PLA.
'The 100-metre stretch from the opening of this tunnel is completely flooded with debris; the oxygen supply (through the pipes) too had gotten over and the chances of any survivors inside this tunnel are very bleak. Nobody has been able to talk to the people trapped inside'
The incident took place on July 19 when a team led by Chamoli District Magistrate and others including officials from Indo-Tibetan Border Police went for a survey of Barahoti ground, official sources said.
A portion of the Nanda Devi glacier broke off in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Sunday, triggering an avalanche and a deluge in the Alaknanda river system that washed away hydroelectric stations, leaving at least seven people dead and 125 missing who are feared dead.
At least six Sikh pilgrims were killed and 10 others injured when an avalanche struck Ghangharia area near Hemkund Sahib shrine in Chamoli district in Dehradun on Monday evening.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish at the loss of lives in Uttarakhand and noted that rescue operations are underway to help the affected.
Making a statement in the House "regarding an avalanche in Chamoli District of Uttarakhand", the Union minister said these inputs were based on the information received till Monday 5 pm from the state government.
Security personnel at work inside the tunnel rushed out and heavy machines engaged in drilling through the debris and sludge inside were withdrawn.
However, the team despatched to Kedarnath has been able to build a temporary bridge over a canal between the helipad and the shrine.
The accident took place at Vishnuprayag when the driver of the bus carrying 45 passengers lost control of the wheel on being hit by a boulder which rolled down a hillside due to a landslide in area, police said, adding that 41 bodies had been retrieved.
Heart rending scenes were witnessed at the funeral of Major Bisht, who died while defusing a mine along the LoC in Naushera sector of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir.
Eleven people were buried alive and five were reported missing in a landslide triggered by incessant rains and flash floods in Govindghat area of Chamoli district, Uttaranchal.
Every psychiatrist and psychologist Rediff.com spoke to said one thing: Avoid news channels and social media.
The bus was going to Maithani in Chamoli district from Srinagar (Garhwal) when it skidded off the road rolling down into a 150-meter ditch, Superintendent of Police Pushkar Singh Sailal said.
The incident regarding Chinese troops entering the border district of Chamoli in Uttarakhand is that of "transgression" and not "incursion", the government said on Thursdy.
The work of manually extricating the bodies from heaps of rubble in Uttarakhand's worst flood-hit Kedarnath area was stopped on Sunday as no more body was visible to the teams engaged in the operation.
Singh said the Doklam "deadlock" was resolved similarly and without any confrontation.
Relief operations resumed in disaster-hit Uttarakhand on Tuesday as the weather cleared up after three days even as most of the personnel engaged in clearing debris and cremating bodies at Kedarnath were withdrawn with the state government deciding to replace them with a new team.
The national capital received heavy precipitation resulting in waterlogging on several roads and traffic jams at various intersections.
'We need an early warning system in India.'
The Garhwal region collectively has deposits worth Rs 2,100 crore and advances worth Rs 1,000 crore.
'The Himmatsinghji Report is still 'missing'.' 'It is a great loss for the knowledge of India's borders.' 'It would have an immense value at a time China is bound to shift its attention to other border fronts in the Himalayas,' notes Claude Arpi.
Local residents and even security personnel are using Nepalese SIM cards in border areas of Uttarakhand as no state-owned or private telecom company from India is providing services in the area, raising security issues.
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