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3 These shrines represent different traditions of the Hindu religion – with Yamunotri and Gangotri being Shakti or goddess shrines, Kedarnath being a Shaiva temple, and Badrinath a Vaishnava site. They are located in an area called Kedarkhand (largely today’s Garhwal) in the Skanda Purana. The locations of these shrines were earlier considered to be occupied by glaciers (named Champasar, Gangotri, Chorabari and Satopanth) in their entirety, which have “NGT” “Project” “MoRTH” PART A since started melting. Even today, they are stated to be located in paraglacial zones, which are considered to be ecologically sensitive. 4 Till the 1950s, access to these shrines was limited and they could only be accessed on foot. Hence, worshippers often undertook long and arduous journeys to reach the shrines. However, since the 1960s, road connectivity to the shrines has improved, where vehicles now ply up to the Badrinath and Gangotri temples while Yamunotri and Kedarnath are 6 to 14 kms away from the nearest motorable road. The improved connectivity has resulted in a greater influx of worshippers. The four shrines typically open for worship in and around late April or early May, and close in and around late October to early November. 5 The Project was conceptualized with the aim of improving accessibility to these shrines by widening the existing roads, making travel safer, smoother and faster. The Project seeks to widen the existing highways into a double lane with paved shoulder configuration 4 with 16 bypasses, realignments and tunnels, 15 flyovers, 101 small bridges and 3516 culverts. The MoRTH has divided the Project into 53 individual projects, the length of each project being less than 100 kms, traversing the following national highways: