Uttarakhand Char-Dham: After mayhem, administration swung into action; disarray in shrines under control
Dehradun: In view of chaos and edginess prevailing in Char-Dham shrines due to overcrowding and mismanagement within the six days of portal opening, the Uttarakhand administration swung into action on Wednesday addressing the issues on various levels.
Chief secretary instructed for legal action against defaming Char-Dham pilgrimage
State chief secretary Radha Raturi on Wednesday instructed the government to take legal action against the people propagating falsehood about yatra through fake news and videos. Besides, she ordered for ceasing the movement of vehicles without registration. Moreover, the letters will be dispatched to the chief secretaries and director general of the police in other states regarding no permission to Char-Dham vehicles without registration. She gave strict orders to the concerned officials to keep their mobile phone on for 24 hours so they can be contacted for the complaints during the yatra. The state has appointed three secretaries in three Char-Dham districts-Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag and Chamoli-and they will work in coordination with district administration for smooth yatra operation.
Secretary to CM R. Meenakshi Sundaram took stock of the travel arrangements
Senior government officials, R. Meenakshi Sundaram, secretary to CM, director general (Information) Banshidhar Tiwari reached Uttarkashi on Wednesday on the situation arising due to the arrival of record pilgrims in Yamunotri and Gangotri Dham. Both held a meeting with district officials in which Meenakshi Sundaram said the Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines are under tremendous pressure due to the unprecedented influx of pilgrims. He gave clear instructions not to allow pilgrims without registration and after strict checking at the barrier, such passengers and vehicles should be sent back immediately. directly.
No big buses are allowed on yatra route
Meenakshi Sundaram also directed to publicize the contact numbers of travel control rooms, disaster management control rooms and police control rooms as much as possible so people in trouble may contact the respective agency immediately. According to him, at the narrow places on yatra routes, no movement of 42 seater and bigger buses should be allowed which can certainly help in eradicating traffic jam conditions. He has also given instructions to effectively ban the operation of Dandi-Kandi, horses-mules without registration in Yamunotri Dham.
Determine the number of passengers according to the carrying capacity of shrines
Explaining the yatra situations, the DM Uttarkashi, Dr Meharban Singh Bisht informed that more than 10 thousand pilgrims are reaching Yamunotri Dham every day. Similarly, more than 12 thousand pilgrims are coming to Gangotri Dham which is exceeding the capacity of both the shrines. He advised for determining the number of passengers according to the carrying capacity of Yamunotri and Gangotri and the condition of the roads, then the situation will become normal.
Garhwal divisional commissioner elaborated about yatra preparations
Regarding Char-Dham yatra preparations and arrangements, Garhwal divisional commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey said that as per the instructions of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, every possible effort is being made to conduct smooth and safe travel. He informed about total registration done in all the shrines. The number of registration for Char-Dham reached 26,73,519 on 14 May. He said that 59,158 devotees have visited Yamunotri, 51,378 in Gangotri, 1,26,306 in Kedarnath and 39,574 devotees have visited Badrinath Dham.
Yamunotri shrine’s narrow trekking route caused overcrowding
Garhwal commissioner expressed his happiness at the increased inflow of pilgrims this year in comparison to previous years and explained the reason behind heavy rush in Yamunotri on the first day of yatra commencement. According to him, the narrow stretch of 5 km of trekking in Yamunotri provides the movement of limited people at the shrine. He said that last year when the doors were opened, a total of 6,838 devotees came whereas this year, 12,193 pilgrims came on the day of opening of the doors.
Adequate arrangements have been made for health screening of the devotees
Vinay Shankar Pandey also said the safety of the devotees and their safe return is the top priority of the state government and important decisions have been taken by the government in this concern. If any tour operator is found carrying passengers outside the registration days, the permits of the vehicles will also be suspended along with holding the passengers. For this, information is given through bulk messages. He said that adequate arrangements have been made for health screening of the devotees. Since all these four shrines are in high altitude people take time to acclimatize. For health checkup of pilgrims, medical history is being asked along with arrangements for screening in Rishikesh. He requested pilgrims not to hide medical history at the time of registration.
Chaotic situation at Yamunotri and Gangotri shrines seemed under control
As per the reports, the chaotic situation at Yamunotri and Gangotri shrines are under control. On Wednesday, the travel time between Rishikesh and these shrines was reduced to 10-12 hours instead of 15-20 hours. Earlier, on Tuesday, more than 12 thousand pilgrims remained stuck on the highway for the whole night. The administration had stopped the registration process for Wednesday and Thursday which has helped in reducing the pressure on yatra routes and no traffic jam conditions are reported on Wednesday.