The State government has ordered the formation of a five-member expert committee after an avalanche was reported in the high peaks behind the Kedarnath temple on Saturday morning. Though the avalanche did not cause any damage to the temple or cause flooding in the rivers, the expert committee has been formed to study the site considering this is the second avalanche in the area within a period of 10 days.

According to Rudraprayag district administration, a partial avalanche occurred about six to seven kilometres behind the Kedarnath temple between 5:30 AM and 6 AM on Saturday. Earlier, a similar avalanche had occurred three to four kilometres behind Kedarnath on September 22 at 4:30 PM. Both the incidents did not cause any damage. It was reported that the avalanche on Saturday also did not result in a rise in the level of water in the Mandakini and Saraswati rivers which flow near the temple. Considering these avalanches and the possibility of there being a similar incident again along with the possibility of any type of threat, the State administration has formed a five-member expert committee. The committee will include experts nominated by the deputy director general of Geological Survey of India, Dehradun, directors of Indian Institute of Technology (Roorkee), Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology and Indian Institute of Remote Sensing as members with the executive director of the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority as its member secretary. This committee will conduct a site inspection of the site in question and present its report to the State administration.