By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 10 May: On the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, the Chardham Yatra formally started today with the opening of the gates of the world famous Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri Dhams.
Pilgrims coming on the Chardham Yatra are required to get themselves registered as well as travel by following the weather information and guidelines issued by the state government from time to time.
Extending his best wishes on the occasion, Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj said today that the state government has made arrangements keeping in view the convenience and safety of the pilgrims coming on the Chardham Yatra. A state level control room has been established at the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board headquarters in Dehradun, which will remain operational during the entire Yatra period. To get rid of long queues for tourists and passengers, the arrangement of tokens and slots for darshan at the Dhams is being done.
Maharaj requested the passengers coming on the Yatra to cooperate by following the arrangements made by the government. He asked the officers and employees engaged in the Yatra arrangements to keep in mind the convenience of the passengers and behave in accordance with the tradition of “Atithi Devo Bhava”.
Religious Affairs Minister Maharaj said that the Tourism Department has made arrangements for online and offline registration under the Tourist Security Management System for the security and monitoring of the passengers and vehicles coming for the Chardham Yatra. Counters have also been made available for offline registration in Rishikesh and Haridwar. To keep this system running smoothly, it is necessary that the pilgrims coming for the Chardham Yatra and the employees and officers engaged in registration work in cooperation with each other. Special attention has been paid to the cleanliness system during the Chardham Yatra. Along with a large number of permanent toilets on the travel routes, there is also adequate arrangement of temporary toilets.
Satpal Maharaj said that special arrangements have been made to keep a watch on the National Highways falling under the Chardham Yatra. Along with identifying the places where the road is mostly blocked on the route, 36 JCB machines have been posted at these places under the supervision of EPC contractor and departmental officers. Forty machines have been deployed in the landslide affected area on the alternative routes coming under the Public Works Department.
Minister Maharaj said that EV charging stations have been set up by the Transport Department, Government of India with the help of Garhwal Mandal Development Corporation on the Chardham Yatra route. So far, 60 kW EV chargers have been delivered at 28 places while the foundation work for the charger has been done at 27 places. So far, EV chargers have been fully installed at 17 places. Keeping in mind the residential facilities of the pilgrims, Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam has renovated and beautified about 52 tourist accommodation houses on the Chardham Yatra route. So far, GMVN has made reservations for 107 package tours in addition to about 74 package tours. In Kedarnath Valley, tents have been set up for 389 beds and residential facilities for about 2500 beds.
Maharaj said that along with visiting other mythological and religious pilgrimage sites of Uttarakhand, pilgrims can also take advantage by visiting the temples and religious circuits of Manaskhand during the journey.