By OUR STAFF REPORTER
Dehradun, 23 May: Chief Secretary Radha Raturi provided an update on the Char Dham Yatra to Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla during a virtual meeting today.
Bhalla directed the Chief Secretary to send a report on pilgrims at the Dhams, yatra routes and holding sites to the Home Ministry every day. He directed that help of the NDRF and ITBP for crowd management be on the yatra route if needed. Along with this, the Union Home Secretary has directed constitution of a committee for strategy formulation of Char Dham Yatra management in the future. He laid special emphasis on strict monitoring of yatra management at the ground level.
Chief Secretary Raturi informed the Home Secretary that the Yatra is being conducted successfully, safely and smoothly in the state. All the states, especially the 5 major states, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, from where most of the pilgrims come to the Char Dham, have been requested to ensure that pilgrims come to the Char Dham only after registration and on the due date. To maintain order, offline registration has been stopped till 31 May.
The CS disclosed that a 24-hour call centre operated by Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board is working on registration. Registered pilgrims are being checked at Barkot (Yamunotri), Heena (Gangotri), Sonprayag (Kedarnath) and Pandukeshwar (Badrinath). Tokens are being issued to registered devotees for visiting the temples at Janki Chatti (Yamunotri), Gangotri Temple (Gangotri), Swargarohini (Kedarnath) and ISBT, BRO and Mana (Badrinath).
The Chief Secretary disclosed that, out of a total of 31,18,926 registrations till 22 May, 4,86,285 devotees have registered for Yamunotri, 5,54,656 for Gangotri, 10,37,700 for Kedarnath, 9,55,858 for Badrinath and 84,427 for Hemkund Sahib. The 10 states with the highest number of devotees coming to the Yatra are Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Bihar, Haryana, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, respectively.
In 2024, 138,537 devotees visited Yamunotri in the first 10 days of the Yatra season. This figure is 127 percent more than the last 2 years. Also, 128,777 devotees visited Gangotri Dham in the first ten days, which is 89 percent more than the last 2 years. This year, 319193 devotees visited Kedarnath Dham in the first ten days, which is 156 percent more than the last 2 years. Similarly, 139,656 devotees have visited Badrinath Dham in the first ten days, which is 27 percent more than the last 2 years.
She added that the Transport Department has arranged for capacity building and medical screening of drivers. Four high-tech check posts have been set up at the main entry points of the Yatra route. Shuttle services have been arranged on Sonprayag and Gaurikund route.
The Chief Secretary added that, this year, 56 tourism police support centres have been opened on the Yatra route. As many as 850 CCTV cameras and 8 drones have been operationalised to monitor the Yatra. Also, 20 parking points with a capacity of 1495 vehicles have been set up on the Kedarnath Dham Yatra route. A QR code based system has been started for parking management, while 3-4 holding points have been set up for controlled movement of vehicles on Yamunotri and Gangotri Yatra routes. Sector magistrates have been deployed for better traffic management on Kedarnath route. Also, 657 Paryawaran Mitras have been deployed for cleaning the route.
This year, 50 screening kiosks have been installed at 12 main locations by the Health Department. Swasthya Mitras, first medical responders, have also been deployed on the Yatra route. As many as 156 ambulances have been deployed on the Yatra route, along with 8 blood banks and 2 storage units. Also, 49 permanent health facilities and 26 medical relief posts have been established. These are being manned by 22 specialists, 179 medical officers and 299 paramedical staff.
The Chief Secretary disclosed that, at present, the administration is focusing on traffic management on the Yatra route. Special focus is being given on helping the elderly, disabled, sick and children.
The Union Home Secretary assured all possible help from the Centre for the successful conduct of the Char Dham Yatra.
Director General of Police Abhinav Kumar, Secretaries Shailesh Bagauli, Sachin Kurve, Dilip Jawalkar, Arvind Singh Hayanki were also present at the meeting.
