Dehradun: The Char Dham pilgrimage may soon be opened in phases, first to people living in Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi districts where the four Himalayan shrines are located, Uttarakhand tourism minister Satpal Maharaj said on Thursday.
Satpal Maharaj said the government is considering allowing the Char Dham yatra first for locals of the three districts, in the second phase for people from other districts of the state and finally, for pilgrims from outside the state.
A pilgrimage to the Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri, and Gangotri shrines is collectively called Char Dham yatra. Tens of thousands of pilgrims join the yatra annually, which starts from Yamunotri in the west. It then proceeds to Gangotri and finally to Kedarnath and Badrinath in the east. Last year, over 1.45 lakh pilgrims visited the Badrinath shrine, 1.34 lakh visited Kedarnath, 23,837 pilgrims went to Gangotri and 7731 pilgrims visited Yamunotri.
“I met chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat on Wednesday and discussed this issue. After the Covid curfew is lifted on June 8, we have plans to open yatra in a phased manner. But this time we will regulate the pilgrim influx and not allow any crowding. RT-PCR test will be a must for all the pilgrims”, he said.
He conceded that there had been no decision on lifting the lockdown imposed in the state and the government will take the next steps to open the Char Dham yatra only if the Covid cases and deaths continue to decline in the state and curfew, in place till June 8, is not extended.
{{/usCountry}}He conceded that there had been no decision on lifting the lockdown imposed in the state and the government will take the next steps to open the Char Dham yatra only if the Covid cases and deaths continue to decline in the state and curfew, in place till June 8, is not extended.
{{/usCountry}}Satpal Maharaj said they are also reviewing the medical facilities along the Char Dham routes such as availability of medical oxygen and other related facilities to ensure pilgrims don’t face any difficulties during medical emergencies.
The Tirath Singh Rawat government had announced the decision to put off the Char Dham pilgrimage on April 29 due to a surge in Covid cases. The yatra was scheduled to start on May 4. This year, only portals of these shrines were opened for ritual worship by the local priests.
The decision to postpone the yatra was taken amid fears that it could turn out into another superspreader after the Mahakumbh in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar. The high court, which had taken a harsh view of the state government’s failure to take adequate steps at Haridwar, had later also pointed out videos on social media that suggested even the priests at Kedarnath and Badrinath temples weren’t following the Covid protocol.