Dehradun, July 23, 2013: When Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna on Monday flew to the Kedarnath shrine, he was shocked after seeing the devastation caused by flash floods.

But soon, the chief minister began monitoring rescue operations in the area. And he walked on a makeshift bridge of timbers to cross the dreaded Mandakini River and also took a shovel to remove debris and sand from the battered eighth century Lord Shiva shrine, where puja has not been performed since June16-17 deluge.

"Today is the first Monday of the month of Shravan. This was the time when special puja used to be performed at the shrine," said the chief minister, who was accompanied by chief secretary Subhash Kumar and other top officials.

Monitoring the operation which has been taken up by the men of Engineering Project India Ltd (EPIL) for the purpose of excavation and cleaning of debris, the chief minister said the government would not allow construction of buildings in a 500-metre radius of the shrine.

The chief minister said the office bearers of the Badrinath-Kedarnath temple committee were cleaning the temple premises, following which the entire shrine area would also be sanctified.

"People are working at Kedarnath in adverse conditions. But I am hopeful that very soon the puja at Kedarnath temple will also resume," said the chief minister. "This natural disaster should be transformed into development", he emphasised.

The chief minister said the government is working on a plan to restore the pristine glory of the temple. He said there had been no internal damage to the structure of the temple. All environmental aspects would be taken care of in future construction activities at Kedarnath, he added.

The chief minister said a memorial of all those who lost their lives in Kedarnath would also built in the area.

Source: Business Standard, DT. July 23, 2013.