CHAR DHAM YATRA

Gangotri
The Shrine of Gangotri situated at an elevation of himalayas 3200 mts. above sea-level amidst captivating surroundings is 100 kms. from Uttarkashi. The temple, constructed by the Gorkha General Amar Singh Thapa in the 18th century, is situated on the right bank of Bhagirathi. It is visited by thousands of pilgrim every year. A number of Ashrams are located on the other side of Himalayas some of which provide accommodation facilities to the Gangotri visitors.

Yamunotri
The Shrine of Yamunotri, source of river Yamuna is situated in the direction opposite to Gangotri and the road bifurcates and goes to Yamunotri from Dharasu, a place between Rishikesh and Uttarkashi. Yamunotri can also be visited via Mussoorie and Barkot.Situated at an elevation of 3235 mts. above sea - level, the shrine of Yamunotri is one of the 'Four Dhams' od Uttranchal. The source of Yamuna lies about one km. ahead at an altitude of about 4421 mts. The approach is extremely difficult and pilgrims therefore offer pooja at temple itself.

Kedarnath
The holiest of Shiva's shrines is likened to gold among base metals so that every pilgrim finds peace here, and it is said that devotees who die here become one with Shiva himself. The temple of Kedarnath, located at a height of 3,581 mts, stand at the head of the Mandakini river, with Kedarnath peak keeping vigil above it. The temple is dedicated to the Sadasiva or invisible form of Shiva, and is represented by a natural rock formation.


Badrinath
Also known as Vishal Badri, this temple located at the height of 3,133 mts. is the largest himalayas and most popular of Vishnu pilgrimages among the five Badries. The original temple here is believed to be built by King Pururava and the icon of the lord carved by Vishwakarma, the creator of the gods. The idol was recovered by Adi Shankaracharya from the waters of the nearby Naradkund and consecrated once more in the temple, restored in the 19th century by the royal houses of Scindia & Holker.

Uttarakhand Wildlife department defends killing of Tiger

Dehra Dun: Under attack from various quarters for killing a tiger in the Corbett tiger reserve, the Uttarakhand Wildlife Department today strongly defended its action, saying the big cat was a "man-eater" which killed at least four persons.

The tiger was shot dead at Kosi river range area of the park on Thursday last on suspicion of killing a 27-year-old man after agitating villagers demanded immediate elimination of the feline.

Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has ordered a probe into the killing of the tiger, while Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh is understood to have sought a report from the state government on the incident.

"We have evidences like old bullet wounds to prove that it was the same tiger which killed four persons in Sunderkhal area of the Corbett tiger reserve," S K Chandola, Chief Wildlife Warden, Uttarakhand, said.

He was responding to criticism from various quarters that the department acted in haste to kill the tiger, which had let loose a reign of terror in the area.

BJP MP Tarun Vijay had also condemned the incident and asked the state government to create a "buffer zone" to facilitate the free movement of big cats.

"When the first time tiger was shot on Jan 11, we presumed that it was a tigress due to its pug marks and broad hind portion. But the postmortem report found the old bullet wound of January 11 in the tiger killed on January 27," he said.

This clearly indicates it was the same tiger, he said, adding that human flesh has been found in the stomach of the tiger, which was killed.

In addition to this, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in its report has stated that the blood samples of the wounded tiger collected on January 11 were of a male tiger and not of the tigress, he said.

Chandola also said the department followed all the guidelines of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) while declaring an animal as man-eater.

"We strictly acted under the section 11 of the wildlife protection act of 1972 which clearly gives mandate to the chief wildlife warden to declare an animal as man-eater in case it becomes dangerous for the human beings," Chandola said.

he said there were several other evidences which clearly suggested that the tiger in Sunderkhal area had become a man-eater.

In the case of the last killing of January 26 where a 27-year-old man was devoured, the tiger had returned to the half-eaten body in the area.

"As the tiger approached the dead body, we ordered the killing," Chandola said.

On being asked as to why the tiger was not tranquilised, he said it was very difficult to tranquilise tigers which are highly elusive animals.

Soon after the killing, the forest department had paraded the tiger on an elephant in the area to instill confidence among the villagers, who had blocked road and pelted stones after the killing of Puran Chand (27).

Uttarakhand Wildlife department defends killing of Tiger

Dehra Dun: Under attack from various quarters for killing a tiger in the Corbett tiger reserve, the Uttarakhand Wildlife Department today strongly defended its action, saying the big cat was a "man-eater" which killed at least four persons.

The tiger was shot dead at Kosi river range area of the park on Thursday last on suspicion of killing a 27-year-old man after agitating villagers demanded immediate elimination of the feline.

Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has ordered a probe into the killing of the tiger, while Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh is understood to have sought a report from the state government on the incident.

"We have evidences like old bullet wounds to prove that it was the same tiger which killed four persons in Sunderkhal area of the Corbett tiger reserve," S K Chandola, Chief Wildlife Warden, Uttarakhand, said.

He was responding to criticism from various quarters that the department acted in haste to kill the tiger, which had let loose a reign of terror in the area.

BJP MP Tarun Vijay had also condemned the incident and asked the state government to create a "buffer zone" to facilitate the free movement of big cats.

"When the first time tiger was shot on Jan 11, we presumed that it was a tigress due to its pug marks and broad hind portion. But the postmortem report found the old bullet wound of January 11 in the tiger killed on January 27," he said.

This clearly indicates it was the same tiger, he said, adding that human flesh has been found in the stomach of the tiger, which was killed.

In addition to this, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in its report has stated that the blood samples of the wounded tiger collected on January 11 were of a male tiger and not of the tigress, he said.

Chandola also said the department followed all the guidelines of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) while declaring an animal as man-eater.

"We strictly acted under the section 11 of the wildlife protection act of 1972 which clearly gives mandate to the chief wildlife warden to declare an animal as man-eater in case it becomes dangerous for the human beings," Chandola said.

he said there were several other evidences which clearly suggested that the tiger in Sunderkhal area had become a man-eater.

In the case of the last killing of January 26 where a 27-year-old man was devoured, the tiger had returned to the half-eaten body in the area.

"As the tiger approached the dead body, we ordered the killing," Chandola said.

On being asked as to why the tiger was not tranquilised, he said it was very difficult to tranquilise tigers which are highly elusive animals.

Soon after the killing, the forest department had paraded the tiger on an elephant in the area to instill confidence among the villagers, who had blocked road and pelted stones after the killing of Puran Chand (27).

27 pilgrims killed as truck falls into gorge in Uttarakhand

Uttarkashi: At least 27 Hindu pilgrims were killed in a road mishap on Sunday when a truck ferrying them fell into a gorge in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, reports said on Monday.

Most of the deceased was between the age group of 18 to 25 year.

A group of 29 youths from Gurgaon district of Haryana were travelling to Gangotri, a Himalayan glacier shrine, on an annual pilgrimage when the truck, they were travelling in, fell into a deep gorge of the Bhagirath river near Manesar (65 km from here) on the Rishikesh-Gangotri National Highway, informed the district administration.

State police and paramilitary Indo-Tibetan Border Police conducted search operations to recover the bodies from the gorge.

A magisterial probe has been ordered into the incident by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank.

Meantime, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda expressed 'deep shock' and 'grief' over the deaths and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the families of the victims.