The Kedarnath area in Uttarakhand will soon get an oxygen plant which will help many pilgrims who face problems due to lack of oxygen at high altitude.
Mangesh Ghildiyal, district magistrate of Rudraprayag, said that an oxygen plant is being built in a Covid-19 hospital of the district, looking at the increasing number of migrants returning and yatra in the future. The project is worth Rs 60 lakh, said Ghildiyal.
“We decided to build an oxygen plant here in the district as with increasing migrants returning to the district, we wanted to boost our infrastructure to be able to deal with any extreme situation if cases arise. This will also help the numerous pilgrims that come to Kedarnath shrine and face problems due to lack of oxygen at that height,” said Ghildiyal.
In the past decade, over 250 people have died on their way to Kedarnath shrine due to problems related to lack of oxygen.
“We usually keep 30 oxygen cylinders on the way to the shrine starting from Gaurikund apart from small oxygen cylinders that can be carried in hand. When pilgrims need to use oxygen from these cylinders, it becomes difficult for us to refill them as we had to transport them to Rishikesh for filling. Now with the new plant, we will be able to save time and money on refilling these cylinders,” added the district magistrate.
He further said that nearby districts like Chamoli will also be able to take benefit of this plant in emergency situations, as it would be easier to transport oxygen cylinders from one district to another instead of travelling to plains in Rishikesh.
The district administration is also looking at options to connect the plant to other hospitals in the district or make arrangements for fast transportation of oxygen cylinders to remote areas during emergencies.
Located at a height of nearly 3,500 metres above sea level, the Kedarnath temple remains covered in snow for most part of the year.
