By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 21 Feb: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reviewed preparations for the upcoming Char Dham Yatra for this season at a meeting held at the Secretariat, here, today. During the meeting, he directed that, before the Chardham Yatra begins, all the departments should complete the preparations at their level. He also emphasised that, for the smooth conduct of the Badrinath Yatra, a team of BRO would regularly stay in Joshimath. In case of any cracks or other problems surfacing on the roads in Joshimath, these should be immediately taken care of. A control room for disaster management would also be set up at Joshimath for the successful conduct of the yatra.
Dhami added that the Public Works Department has been directed to ensure that the roads of the Char Dham Yatra are made totally free of potholes. He observed that complaints had been received from various places that the roads still have potholes. The CM directed the PWD to review the situation every week along with the District Magistrates. This review will be continued until the reports of 100 percent pothole-free and improvement of Public Works Department roads are not received from the District Magistrates. The Chief Minister reminded that the Char Dhams of Uttarakhand are major centres of religious faith for the devotees. It is the responsibility of everyone concerned that the journey is safe and smooth. He said that all the departments concerned should pay special attention to ensuring better facilities for the devotees this time, while identifying shortcomings that remained left in last year’s Chardham Yatra.
Dhami also directed the officials to ensure that proper arrangements are made for parking of vehicles on the Char Dham routes. Arrangements should also be made for the drivers to rest at these parking lots. Special care should be taken of cleanliness in Char Dham Yatra. Complete arrangements should be made for cleanliness on the pedestrian routes as well. Adequate arrangement of drinking water and toilets should also be made at all petrol pumps. Complete arrangements should be made for signage and crash barriers on the travel routes as per the requirement. Fitness test of vehicles and other necessary arrangements for Chardham Yatra should be completed on time. Health, drinking water, toilets and other necessary arrangements should be kept smooth on the routes. Along with arrangement of water for horses and mules on the walking routes of Chardham Yatra, complete arrangements should be made for the team of doctors from the Animal Husbandry Department.
The CM instructed the officers that for better operation of the Chardham Yatra, the officials should go to the ground and regularly monitor the works. Cabinet Ministers Satpal Maharaj, Prem Chand Agarwal, Chandan Ram Das, President of Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee Ajendra Ajay, MLAs Bharat Chaudhary, Shaila Rani Rawat, Durgeshwar Lal, Chief Secretary Dr SS Sandhu, Additional Chief Secretary Radha Raturi, Secretaries, Heads of Departments and District Magistrates were present through virtual medium.
