RISHIKESH/HARIDWAR, July 2, 2013: The bustling holy cities famous for the crowds of sadhus and pilgrims, clanging temple bells and hymns blaring over loudspeakers are eerily quiet. Markets and bathing ghats, ashrams and akhadas wear a deserted look.

Shopkeepers and taxi drivers quietly play cards, while others sit idle. The Char Dham pilgrimage is in full glory around this time and towns bulge with visitors from all corners of the country. But the floods and devastation has chased out both the pilgrim and the sadhu.

At Rishikesh, even the popular ashrams, packed this time of the year, have most rooms locked. "All occupants panicked and left after the devastation at Kedarnath," says Gauri Shankar, manager at Gita Bhawan ashram next to Ram Jhula bridge.

Swami Chidanand Saraswati of Parmarth Niketan ashram blames rampant pollution of the Ganga for the devastation. "I feel sad when I look at Rishikesh. I've never seen it so lonely in 45 years," Swami Chidanand tells TOI. A statue of Lord Shiva on a raised platform in the middle of the river in front of the ashram was washed away.

Business is badly hit. Gauri Shankar, who sells religious trinkets and gems near the ashram, says he hasn't sold a single item in days. "We normally don't have time to breathe around this time, but now there are no buyers." The market area's seen a mild fl ooding and silt from the river lies heaped around the shops and ghat area. With pilgrims gone, worship on Rishikesh's ghats are all but over. "People came here for all pujas, but after June 16 it's been quiet," says Pt Mukund Pandey.

The scene is the same at Haridwar. Dharamshalas are empty and akhadas, normally teeming with saints, are deserted. Mahant Lalta Giri, 77-year-old secretary of the Niranjini Akhara, says very few sadhus are coming to ashrams. "I've never seen such a situation in Haridwar."

Source: The Times of India, DT. July 2, 2013.