By OUR STAFF REPORTER
Dehradun, 1 Oct: Due to better travel management and security arrangements made by the state government, there is a lot of enthusiasm among pilgrims for the Char Dham Yatra. With the end of the monsoon, the journey has again picked up pace. On 30 September, 20,497 devotees reached the Char Dham for Darshan. Of these, the highest number of 7,350 pilgrims reached Kedarnath Dham. So far, in this year’s yatra, about 38 lakh devotees visited Char Dham. The effective response to the Kedar Ghati disaster has deepened the faith of the pilgrims and they are flocking to Baba Kedar with full enthusiasm.
The safety of the Char Dham pilgrims has been the top priority of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. The impact of the travel arrangements has been visible on the Yatra. The way the government dealt with the major disaster that occurred in Kedarghati on 31 July has been praised wholeheartedly by the pilgrims. There was no delay in the safe evacuation of the pilgrims and the local residents stranded on the footpath and halts. About 18,000 people were rescued safely and taken to their destination. The footpath has also been improved while restoring normal life in Kedarghati.
Now, the second phase of the Yatra has gained momentum. A large number of pilgrims have registered for months of October and November as well. On 30 September, 22,244 devotees including those of Hemkund and Gomukh undertook the Char Dham Yatra. Apart from Kedarnath, 6811 pilgrims reached Badrinath, 3619, Gangotri, 2717, Yamunotri, 1632, Hemkund and 115, Gomukh.
Till 30 September, a total of 37,91,205 pilgrims have come for Char Dham Darshan whereas, last year, 56.13 lakh pilgrims had arrived during the entire Yatra period. Similarly, 46.29 lakh pilgrims arrived for Char Dham Darshan in the year 2022 and 34.77 lakh pilgrims arrived in the year 2019. The yatra was affected due to corona infection in the years 2020 and 2021. The number of pilgrims in these two years was 3.30 lakh and 5.29 lakh, respectively.
This year the Yatra started with a delay of 17 days
on 10 May. Last year, the opening of the doors of Gangotri and Yamunotri Dhams on 23 April initiated the journey. Then the doors of Kedarnath were opened on 25 April and the doors of Badrinath Dham on 27 April. This year the doors of Gangotri, Yamunotri and Kedarnath Dham opened 17 days later, i.e., on 10 May, while the journey to Badrinath Dham started on 12 May. The journey will continue till November.
The terrible disaster that occurred in Kedarghati on the night of 31 July has also affected the journey. Although the Dhami government carried out rapid relief and rescue work and restored normal life within a few days, the journey was stopped for several days due to security reasons.
There has also been focus on better travel management. As many as 20 parking lots have been built on the Kedarnath Dham route. A QR code-based system for parking management has been initiated, while sector magistrates have been deployed for traffic management. As many as 850 CCTV cameras and 8 drones are monitoring the journey. Also, 56 tourism help centres for the convenience of travellers have been established.
A total of 657 staff have been deployed to clean the track route. There are 50 screening kiosks on the Yatra route run by the Health Department, and 156 ambulances deployed, even as 8 blood banks and 2 storage units have been established.
There are 49 permanent health facilities and 26 medical relief posts, 22 specialists, 179 medical officers and 299 paramedical staff deployed.
