‘Misbehaviour with Char Dham pilgrims won’t be tolerated at all’: CM to officials

Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday issued directions to district magistrates and police chiefs of Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Uttarkashi where four Char Dham shrines are located, to ensure pilgrims face no inconvenience or difficulties during the pilgrimage. He said misbehaviour with pilgrims won’t be tolerated at all.

Dhami issued these directions while reviewing Char Dham yatra with senior officers in which he also interacted with the DMs and police chiefs of the three districts through video conferencing.

“Pilgrims should not face any inconvenience. All possible efforts will be made to provide better facilities to the pilgrims. The pilgrims should return with a good message from the state. This is the responsibility of all of us. I will be distressed if even one pilgrim faces any problem here during the pilgrimage”, he said.

Dhami also appealed to the pilgrims intending to come for Char Dham yatra to register themselves on the Char Dham Board portal. The Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board has so far issued over 69,000 e-passes to the devotees of other states as per the SOP. According to the Board officials, till Sunday, over 36,000 people visited Char Dham shrines.

On September 17, the Uttarakhand government released a standard operating procedure (SOP) for Char Dham yatra. The main conditions for the yatra are negative RTPCR/TrueNat/CBNAAT/RAT COVID report (72 hours before) or certificate for both the Covid-19 doses (15 days should have passed after both doses) and seeking e-pass for Char Dham yatra from the website of the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board. Pilgrims from Kerala, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, even if they have received both doses, are required to carry negative RTPCR/TrueNat/CBNAAT/RAT Covid-19 report (72 hours before) with them for seeking e-pass for the pilgrimage to the four revered shrines.

The daily limit of pilgrims will be 1,000 for Badrinath, 800 for Kedarnath, 600 for Gangotri and 400 for Yamunotri shrines.

Kedarnath, along with Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri, are collectively called Char Dham and attract lakhs of pilgrims each year. Traditionally, Char Dham pilgrimage begins from the west of Yamunotri, proceeding to Gangotri and finally to Kedarnath and Badrinath in the east.

Last year in June, the state government restricted the number of local pilgrims for the Char Dham pilgrimage. The authorities had capped the daily influx of local pilgrims, allowing only 1200 per day for Badrinath, 800 for Kedarnath, 600 for Gangotri and 400 for the Yamunotri shrine.