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Char Dham yatra: Uttarakhand to screen pilgrims aged above 50 after 101 deaths
The Char Dham yatra began on May 3, after a two-year hiatus caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The yatra comprises pilgrimage to Yamunotri and Gangotri in Uttarkashi, Kedarnath in Rudraprayag and Badrinath in Chamoli districts -- all located in the mountainous terrain of Garhwal Himalayas.
People above the age of 50, who are planning to take the Char Dham yatra, will now have to undergo mandatory health screening, the Uttarakhand government said on Sunday. The decision comes on the day two more pilgrims died in Kedarnath, taking the toll past 100.
The Char Dham yatra began on May 3, after a two-year hiatus caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The yatra comprises pilgrimage to Yamunotri and Gangotri in Uttarkashi, Kedarnath in Rudraprayag and Badrinath in Chamoli districts -- all located in the mountainous terrain of Garhwal Himalayas. According to the state health department, 101 pilgrims have died during the course of the yatra, including 49 in Kedarnath Dham, 20 in Badrinath Dham, 7 in Gangotri Dham and 25 in Yamunotri Dham. Of these, one each died in Kedarnath and Badrinath on Sunday.
An official familiar with the matter attributed the deaths to cardiac arrest and other health-related ailments.
“We have decided to make the medical screening mandatory for all the pilgrims aged 50 and above, who are coming for Char Dham yatra,” said Shailaja Bhatt, director-general of health, Uttarakhand.
BK Shukla, chief medical officer of Rudraprayag, said: “The pilgrims found medically unfit to embark on the journey further are being advised to return and we are also taking an undertaking from those pilgrims who refuse to comply and are adamant about reaching the shrine.”
KS Chauhan, chief medical officer of Uttarkashi, also confirmed that medical screening is being conducted on a mandatory basis for pilgrims above 50 years. “The medical screening is being conducted at three places at Barkot, Jan Ki Chatti and at Yamunotri shrine while the medical screening is being conducted on a mandatory basis for the pilgrims above 50 years of age at Hina and at Gangotri shrine,” he said.
Dilip Jawalkar, the tourism secretary said, “Earlier, the yatra was done through public transport and used to be a minimum of nine days’ travel but now the pilgrims come in private vehicles and due to good roads, the movement is swift which gives pilgrims little time to acclimatize themselves thus adversely affecting their health.” Bhatt, too, attributed the death to a lack of acclimatizing time. “We have issued an advisory appealing to the pilgrims to adopt a staggered approach while on Char Dham yatra as it will provide time to acclimatize to the conditions and mitigate the adverse health effects on the body.”
