Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, along with his wife Madhulika Rawat, on Wednesday, have visited the Kedarnath Temple. Army Chief Rawat is also scheduled to visit Badrinath soon. Necessary preparations had been made by the temple administration, temple committee, pilgrimage priests and authorities, in view of his visit to the shrine.

The Army Chief interacted with temple officials

According to sources, General Bipin Rawat left for Kedarnath Dham on Wednesday morning in an army helicopter from Dehradun Army Cantt Helipad and reached the VIP helipad at 9.20 am, after which he and his wife offered their prayers at the temple. Additionally, he also had an interaction with the officials of the administration and the temple committee.

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He is expected to leave for Joshimath, shortly. Sources suggest that at Joshimath, the district administration has already given necessary instructions to Superintendent of Police, SDM Ukhimath, Sector Officer Kedarnath and Executive Officer Temple Committee regarding General Rawat's visit to Kedarnath. A police force has been deployed in view of security arrangements.
His visit to the holy shrine comes just a day after the Army Chief General visited Leh which is the main town of strategic Ladakh. He was in the area to review the security situation along the borders with China and Pakistan.

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He also interacted with the soldiers 

According to the army sources, he, during his visit, also interacted with officers and soldiers during his visit to the Army formations to obtain the first-hand information on the ground situation in the frontier region. However, the main purpose of his visit to Leh was to inform the 15th Finance Commission (FC) team, led by its chairman N. K. Singh, which is in the frontier region to obtain first-hand knowledge about challenges faced by the Army in discharging their duties under extreme terrain and altitude conditions, of the conditions in which the Army troops are operating in the landlocked region and defending the borders. 

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According to a statement issued by the Army, Gen. Rawat, during his visit to the headquarters of Leh-based Fire & Fury Corps, interacted with Mr Singh and other members of the 15th Finance Commission.

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