Every year, the peak pilgrimage season at Badrinath ends on June 30 with much fanfare. This year, though, June 30 is the gloomiest ever. The belief that Badrinath is the seat of the 'Bhairavi Chakra' - Bhairavi is a terrifying aspect of Shakti much like Kali but is identified as the consort of Bhairava - has suffered.
Around the half a km area surrounding the shrine, shops have downed shutters. In the few that are open, stocks are overflowing, but there are no customers. Stall-lined streets that lead to the temple, usually difficult to traverse, are deserted.
On way to being evacuated from Badrinath on Sunday, Lata Agarwal said, "Every year, I come to Badrinath and stay here a few months. This time, even though floods have not damaged Badrinath, my family asked me to return home."
Agarwal, a hyper-tensive patient from Haridwar, is not alone. Doctors at the relief camp said they have attended hundreds of pilgrims, most traumatized by not knowing when they would be rescued. Dr Simarjit Singh Rehsi said, "We've assured everyone that help is at hand. However, remaining cut off from their homes without communication has led to panic among people."
'Faithful will return once roads are restored'
Prayers at the shrine are affected. Although the daily puja is uninterrupted, the temple trust has rescheduled darshan because of fewer pilgrims. Said Sanjay Kotiyal, a purohit from Devprayag who camps in Badrinath from May to November, "During peak season, doors to the shrine open at 3am. Today morning prayers begin at 4am. Many of the 3,000 pandits at Badrinath have started returning to their villages."
Temple trust's chief executive officer BD Singh, however, remains unfazed . Faith, he said, has taken a temporary hit. "Once the road network is restored, the faithful will be back," he said.
Locals angry
There is palpable anger in the people here. Traders and purohits say the government failed them because it ignored Met warning. They also said traders began doling out essential kitchen supplies to pilgrims for free or at heavily subsidised rates to ensure they stayed comfortable.
"Before the Uttarakhand administration could intervene, the military took over the rescue, while the temple managed distributing relief material to visitors. But once the government took over, relief supplies dried up," said Ravindra Sharma, a trader.
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