Monday, 05 October 2020 | PNS | Dehradun
With more than 50,000 persons having visited the Char Dham shrines so far this year, the enthusiasm for the Yatra is on the rise. On the directions of chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and Tourism and Culture minister Satpal Maharaj, the Yatra was opened for locals on July 1 and with some provisions for all from July 25.
Now, the requirement for pilgrims to have a Covid negative report from the ICMR certified lab 72 hours before arrival has also been discontinued. Following basic health protocols, pilgrims can easily make e-passes for the Char Dham Yatra from the website of the Char Dham Devsthanam Board. Till Sunday evening, 4,844 people had been issued e-passes for the Yatra from the website www.badrinath-kedarnath.gov.in. These include 1,172 for Badrinath, 2,647 for Kedarnath, 641 for Gangotri and 384 for Yamunotri.
Maharaj said that the Devsthanam Board has now removed the requirement for Covid negative report and quarantine for the pilgrims arriving from outside the state. All are now permitted to undertake the Char Dham Yatra while observing health protocols. He further said that pilgrims are being allowed to enter the shrines only after thermal screening and sanitisation. While wearing masks is mandatory, the Darshan of the deity are being done from a distance at present in order to maintain social distancing. The minister further informed that the rest houses of the Devsthanam Board on the Yatra route have been opened for the convenience of the pilgrims. The pilgrims are expected to stay at the Dhams only if very important and unavoidable. They should try to return to the nearest stations after paying their obeisance to the deities in the shrines while also remaining informed about the weather and condition of roads even though the condition of roads is now normal, he said.
The board chief executive officer Ravinath Raman informed that the pilgrims arriving by helicopter have been exempted from e-passes but the aviation company will be responsible for the health check of the pilgrims they ferry.The board’s additional CEO, BD Singh informed that from July 1 to the evening of October 3, the board had issued 92,516 e-passes. So far more than 50,000 people have visited the Char Dham shrines.
