ACS holds meeting to review preparations for Char Dham Yatra
By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 10 Mar: Additional Chief Secretary Radha Raturi held a special meeting, today, with hoteliers, the Teerth Purohit Samaj and tour operators associated with the Char Dham Yatra in the state on the instructions of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
The meeting reviewed preparations for the upcoming Char Dham Yatra starting next month in Uttarakhand.
Speaking on the occasion, the ACS observed that, this year, the expected number of pilgrims is likely to surpass last year’s figures and, in view of this possibility, a need has been felt to review the preparations at every level to ensure smooth conduct of the Char Dham Yatra. She instructed the officials that, before the opening of the portals in Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and the Yamunotri Dhams, the electricity and water supply in all the Dhams should be made properly functional. She also directed the officials to make the online registration process for the pilgrims more user friendly and accessible.
Raturi appealed to all the representatives associated with the Chardham Yatra to make collective efforts towards ensuring that a positive message is sent across to the whole country. She stressed that the image of Uttarakhand in the world is in the form of a tourism state and, keeping this in mind, all concerned have to ensure that every traveller who comes to the state goes back with a good experience.
Secretary, Tourism, Sachin Kurve said that till Thursday this year more than 2.12 lakh registrations have been done for the Char Dham Yatra. Yatris have been given 65 days time for registration. Apart from this, for the convenience of Yatris, the system of on call registration and registration through WhatsApp has also been implemented. Kurve also claimed that a better and transparent system of registration for helicopter services will be implemented this year.
During the meeting, Ganga Sabha President Sanjeev Semwal expressed gratitude to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and the state government for the construction of a new ghat at Gangotri Dham. President of the Uttarkashi Hotel Association Shailendra Matuda shared his suggestions regarding creation of parking facilities along the Yatra routes and, in particular, at Gangotri Dham. Abhishek Ahluwalia of Uttarakhand Tour Operators’ Association, Dr Brijesh Sati from Char Dham Mahapanchayat, and Rajnikant Semwal from Gangotri Tirthpurohit Samaj also shared valuable suggestions.
Additional Chief Secretary Raturi said that whatever important suggestions have been given by the representatives from different Dhams in the meeting would also be conveyed to the Chief Minister.
In the review meeting, representatives of all the four Dhams including Kishore Bhatt, former public relations officer of the chief minister, Rajesh Mehta, president of the Badrinath Hotel Association were also present.
