PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The Congress has claimed that a 31 per cent decline in the number of pilgrims in the Char Dham Yatra in the first two weeks this year as compared to the corresponding period last year has exposed the claims made by the State government on Yatra. Interacting with the mediapersons at the headquarters of the State Congress here on Thursday, Pradesh Congress Committee vice president Suryakant Dhasmana said that 9.61 lakh pilgrims visited the State for Char Dham Yatra in the first two weeks in 2024 while only 6.62 lakh pilgrims arrived in Yatra during the first two weeks this year.
He said that after the attack on tourists at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, the number of tourists and pilgrims visiting Jammu and Kashmir this year decreased and it was believed that the number of people visiting this year to Uttarakhand will increase. Delving on the probable causes of decline in tourist numbers in Uttarakhand, the Congress leader said that the attempt to give a communal hue to the rape of minor case in Nainital created a negative image of the State in the country. He added that the war between India and Pakistan is another cause which scared the tourists.
Dhasmana said that after the ceasefire between the two countries things are normal now. He said that the Uttarakhand government should now give a message of safe and accessible Char Dham Yatra so that the number of pilgrims increases. Dhasmana said that apart from the faith and devotion, the Char Dham Yatra is associated with the livelihood of lakhs of people in Uttarakhand and its success is necessary for the State.
