Dhari Devi is a temple on the banks of the Alaknanda River in the Garhwal Region of Uttarakhand state, India. It houses the upper half of an idol of the goddess Dhari that, according to local lore, changes in appearance during the day from a girl, to a woman, and then to an old lady. The idol's lower half is located in Kalimath, where mata is prayed in Kali roop.
This shrine is one of 108 shakti sthals in India, as numbered by Srimad Devi Bhagwat.
The temple is located in Kalyasaur along the Srinagar -Badrinath Highway. It is about 15 km from Srinagar, Uttarakhand, 20 km from Rudraprayag and 360 km from Delhi.
A compelling legend is of Dhari Devi, guardian deity of Uttarakhand, whose idol was removed from her temple hours before the cloudburst. A manifestation of Goddess Kali, Dhari Devi is revered as the protector of the Char Dhams.
As per believers, Uttarakhand had to face the Goddess' ire as she was shifted from her 'mool sthan' (original abode) to make way for a 330 MW hydel project that lies in ruins after the flood. A similar attempt in 1882 by a local king had resulted in a landslide that had flattened Kedarnath.
Built by Alaknanda Hydro Power Company Ltd (AHPCL), a subsidiary of infrastructure major GVK, the Srinagar hydel project had faced opposition from locals, saints and the BJP. They are opposed to the plan to relocate the Dhari Devi temple from its original site on a small island in the middle of the River Alaknanda.
In June 2013, a multi-day cloudburst centered on the North Indian state of Uttarakhand caused devastating floods and landslides in the country's worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami. Though parts of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in India, some regions of Western Nepal, and some parts of Western Tibet also experienced heavy rainfall, over 95% of the casualties occurred in Uttarakhand. As of 16 July 2013, according to figures provided by the Uttarakhand government, more than 5,700 people were "presumed dead." This total included 934 local residents.
Destruction of bridges and roads left about 100,000 pilgrims and tourists trapped in the valleys leading to three of the four Hindu Chota Char Dham pilgrimage sites . The Indian Air Force, the Army and paramilitary troops evacuated more than 110,000 people from the flood ravaged area.
Landslides, due to the floods, damaged several houses and structures, killing those who were trapped. The heavy rains resulted in large flashfloods and massive landslides. Entire villages and settlements such as Gaurikund and the market town of Ram Bada, a transition point to Kedarnath, have been obliterated, while the market town of Sonprayag suffered heavy damage and loss of lives. Pilgrimage centres in the region, including Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath, the hallowed Hindu Chardham (four sites) pilgrimage centers, are visited by thousands of devotees, especially after the month of May onwards. Over 70,000 people were stuck in various regions because of damaged or blocked roads. People in other important locations like the Valley of flowers, Roopkund and the Sikh pilgrimage centre Hemkund were stranded for more than three days. National Highway 58, an important artery connecting the region was also washed away near Jyotirmath and in many other places. Because summers have more number of tourists, the number of people impacted is substantial. For more than three days, stranded pilgrims and tourists were without rations or survived on little food. The roads were seriously damaged at more than 450 places, resulting in huge traffic jams, and the floods caused many cars and other vehicles to be washed away. On June 18, more than 12,000 pilgrims were stranded at Badrinath, the popular pilgrimage center located on the banks of the Alaknanda River. Rescuers at the Hindu pilgrimage town of Haridwar on the river Ganga recovered bodies of 40 victims washed down by the flooded rivers as of June 21 2013. Bodies of people washed away in Uttarakhand were found in distant places like Bijnor, Allahabad and Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh.
Source: Wikipedia
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