Char Dham Yatra expected to be undertaken by record breaking number of pilgrims this year: Maharaj
Friday, 26 APRIL 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
With nearly 15 lakh people registering for the Char Dham Yatra, the Tourism and Culture minister Satpal Maharaj said that compared to the number of people undertaking the Char Dham Yatra is expected to be considerably higher than in the previous year. He said that the manner in which a large number of people are registering for the pilgrimage and bookings in guest houses of the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) on the Yatra route are consistently rising even before the start of the Yatra, it is most likely that the pilgrimage this year will be undertaken by more than the 56.31 lakh people who undertook the Char Dham Yatra last year.
Maharaj said that since February 22 till date, pilgrims have booked GMVN guest houses on the Yatra route amounting to more than Rs eight crore and this figure is consistently rising. He said that registration for Char Dham pilgrims started on April 15. So far, 2,73,691 have registered to visit Gangotri, 2,49,864 have registered for Yamunotri, 5,12,976 for Kedarnath and 4,299,49 for Badrinath. In addition to this, 22,961 have registered to visit Hemkund Sahib. A total of 14,89,441 have registered for the Char Dham and Hemkund Sahib so far. The Tourism minister further informed that a State level control room will be established in Dehradun during the Char Dham Yatra. The control room is functioning at present too from 7 AM to 10 PM, he added. “A token/slot system has been introduced so that the pilgrims do not have to wait for long in queues to pay obeisance to the deity. An inspection of the proposed sites for this will be conducted by officials of the agency concerned along with the officials of the Tourism department, police and district administration. With the implementation of this system, the pilgrims will not have to wait for more than one hour in queue,” he said. Maharaj further said that special focus will be laid on sanitation during the Yatra period. At present there are 147 temporary toilets with 1,584 seats facilitated through Sulabh International on the Yatra circuit. In addition to these, more toilets are open on the routes including 82 seat steel-frame toilets on the Gangotri and Yamunotri routes, 251 seats in Rudraprayag district, 60 seats I Chamoli district and 80 seats on the Hemkund Sahib/Lokpal route.
