Wednesday, 15 MAY 2024 | PNS | UTTARKASHI
The large numbers of people visiting Gangotri and Yamunotri since these temples were reopened on May 10 have already broken past records for the highest number of pilgrims to visit in a single day. The heavy traffic has also caused some issues on narrow stretches of the highway to these shrines. The authorities have implemented the gate system to regulate traffic and are also regulating the movement of visitors to Gangotri and Yamunotri. Record number of people visited these two shrines on May 12 and 13. According to officials, the stream of visitors continued in Yamunotri on Tuesday while a large number of people also visited Gangotri on the day which was also observed as Ganga Saptami.
Officials informed that on May 28 last year, 12,045 pilgrims had visited Yamunotri which was a record for the highest number of visitors in a single day. On Monday, 12,148 people visited Yamunotri while on Tuesday 15,630 people visited Yamunotri. With people continuing to visit Yamunotri in large numbers, the authorities have set up barriers and a gate system to regulate the traffic. However, the crowd from Yamunotri reaching Gangotri has increased the load here. On May 29 last year a record 13,670 people visited Gangotri while on Monday a total of 18,973 people visited Gangotri. This is the highest number of people to visit Gangotri in a single day so far. On Tuesday 11,734 people visited Gangotri. The load increased further on Tuesday as Dev Dolis from Tehri and Uttarkashi districts also reached Gangotri on the occasion of Ganga Saptami. The administration, police and temple committee are working harder to manage the situation. Problems are also being faced due to large buses getting stuck on the narrow route in Gangotri. With the traffic load increasing, vehicles are advancing in a queue till Gangotri. The authorities are intermittently halting the vehicles before letting them go further at the Ramlila Maidan in Uttarkashi, Heena, Bhatwadi, Gangnani, Sukki, Jhala, Harshil and Dharali to manage the traffic. The stream of pilgrims continued to reach Gangotri till late in the night due to this. On the request of the administration, the Gangotri Mandir Samiti enabled Darshan for the pilgrims till late night. The authorities also provided refreshments to the pilgrims. The market in Gangotri remained open till 2 AM on Monday for the convenience of the pilgrims. Uttarkashi district magistrate Meharban Singh Bisht said that after the implementation of the gate system for Yamunotri, the traffic shifted towards Gangotri. The increased traffic and large buses getting stuck on narrow roads caused an increased load in some spots. Departmental officials and personnel have been deployed on the Yatra route. The crowd is under control in both Gangotri and Yamunotri, he added.
