By OUR STAFF REPORTER
DEHRADUN, 14 Oct: Winter Char Dham Yatra was started in the year 2014 to promote tourism in Uttarakhand even during winters. Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj took a meeting of the officials of the Tourism Department and enquired about the preparations so that all the facilities could be easily available to the pilgrims and devotees. He also enquired about the status of registering Limca Records in Guinness Book in view of the record number of Char Dham Yatris. It is worth noting that this time, after two years without any restrictions in the Char Dham Yatra, record breaking devotees visited Char Dham and Hemkund Sahib.
Tourism Minister Maharaj said that so far about 42 lakh pilgrims have visited Char Dham Yatra. By the time the doors close, this number is expected to reach around 45 lakh. So the loss of businessmen associated with Char Dham Yatra in the last two years has been compensated by the pilgrims who broke the record in Char Dham Yatra this year. Giving instructions to the officials, said that a pilgrim should be allowed to visit Char Dham only once in a year. For this, the facility of registration for Char Dham Yatra should be linked with Aadhar card. Apart from this, hotels across the state should be categorised with special attention to cleanliness in tourist accommodation.
Satpal Maharaj said that the preliminary survey of the 9.7 km long ropeway to be built from Sonprayag to Kedarnath has been completed. With the construction of the ropeway, pilgrims will be able to complete this journey within 25 km. The four stations of the ropeway will be at Gaurikund, Cheerbasa, Lincholi and the last station will be at Kedarnath.
