Buried by Dharali disaster: Villagers scramble to excavate Kalpakedar shrine – myuttarakhandnews.com | Uttarakhand News in English | Dehradun News Today| News Uttarakhand | Uttarakhand latest news

PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Uttarkashi Villagers and the temple committee in Dharali have started excavation to recover the ancient Kalpakedar temple, 14 months after it was buried by a devastating flash flood in the Kheer Ganga river. To mark the first day of Shardiya Navratri on Sunday, the committee members along with the villagers performed a ritualistic havan-puja and bhumi puja in the presence of the palanquin of the region’s deity Someshwar.  This was followed by the excavation.    As per local beliefs, the Dharali region once housed a cluster of about 240 temples, with the Kalpkedar Temple holding a prominent place among them. This ancient temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is also considered an important religious stop for pilgrims on the Char Dham Yatra.They said that the temple had suffered damages several times before the 2025 Dharali deluge. “But we have managed to excavate it from under the debris. This time, the task is more challenging, given the excessive amount of debris,” a villager said.The president of the temple committee, Rajesh Panwar said that they had sought permission for excavation on   August 5, the first anniversary of the disaster. The temple committee officials alleged that they had to take up the work themselves after the state government had backed down on its assurance of doing the same. As per the plan prepared, they will excavate for about eight hours daily using an excavator machine. This work is estimated to cost about Rs 40,000 per day. “We are not worried about the amount required; we are more worried about how to retrieve the temple structure and the deity safely from under the mound of debris,” said the committee’s secretary, Sanjay Panwar, adding that the actual condition of the temple would only be known with the progress of  the excavation.