By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 15 Oct: The government has asserted that the second phase of the ongoing Char Dham Yatra has gained momentum after a relative lull during the monsoon period. Long queues of pilgrims are being witnessed at Kedarnath Dham after the monsoon season. Yesterday, a total of 27,789 pilgrims visited the Char Dham shrines. Despite the journey to Kedarnath being difficult and challenging, a maximum of 11,309 pilgrims reached there yesterday to visit Lord Kedarnath. Similarly, 6,644 pilgrims visited Badrinath, 2,406 in Gangotri, and 3,290 pilgrims visited Yamunotri yesterday.
The government has stated that, during the current Yatra period, a total of 40,92,360 pilgrims have visited Char Dham shrines so far.
Official sources claim that this has been possible due to the efficient travel management and continuous monitoring by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. The officials remind that even the disaster in Kedar Valley that occurred in July did not dampen the enthusiasm of the pilgrims. The confidence of the pilgrims in the government has increased due to the improvement in security and other arrangements on the travel route and halts. The enthusiastic pilgrims have wholeheartedly praised the efforts of the government for this.
Officials also claim that given the heavy rains that wreaked havoc in Kedar Valley on the night of 31 July, it was not easy to restore the pedestrian track during the current season. However, the government accepted this difficult challenge and restored the journey as soon as possible. Now, with the portals of all the four Dhams set to close next month, tremendous enthusiasm is being seen among the pilgrims during the last few days of the Yatra that remain.
Commenting on this, CM Dhami observed that a smooth, safe, and well-organised Char Dham Yatra has been the top priority of the government. Every year, lakhs of devotees from the country and abroad come on Char Dham Yatra. The government is committed to providing a safe environment for the pilgrims. The Yatra is also linked to the economy of the state. He also noted that seeing the speed at which the number of devotees is increasing in the state today, there will be a need to expand the travel arrangements further in order to manage a smooth yatra. The exercise for this has also been started. This time, the arrangements were affected due to the Kedar Valley disaster, but the government faced this difficult challenge firmly and restored the Kedar Yatra well in time.
