Dehradun: This year’s Chardham Yatra will begin with the doors of the famous Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines located in the Upper Garhwal region of Uttarakhand being reopened for devotees after six months on Tuesday on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya. In view of the possibility of record devotees coming to the Chardham Yatra, which has been interrupted due to the Kovid epidemic for the last two years, the state government has fixed the number of pilgrims to visit each Dham daily, to ensure its smooth operation. The police have also identified about two and a half thousand suspects by conducting a verification campaign and arrested 10 of them.
According to the information received from the temple committees, the doors of Gangotri and Yamunotri Dham located in the Uttarkashi district will be opened on Tuesday at 11:15 am and 12:15 pm respectively. Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee spokesperson Dr. Harish Gaur said that the doors of Kedarnath temple in Rudraprayag district will open on May 6 at 6:15 am. Whereas the doors of Badrinath Dham in Chamoli district will be opened on May 8 at 6:25 am.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said this
State Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that all preparations have been made for the Chardham Yatra in the state. With this, he said, ‘Lakhs of devotees will come to Chardham this year, to whom the state government has made all arrangements to provide better facilities.’
Number of pilgrims fixed
Meanwhile, in view of the huge rush of devotees thronging for registration on the online portal of the tourism department for Chardhams, the state government has fixed the maximum number of devotees visiting the Dhams daily. According to an order issued in this regard by the state’s Culture and Endowment Secretary Harichandra Semwal, a maximum of 15,000 pilgrims will be able to visit Badrinath every day, 12000 in Kedarnath, 7000 in Gangotri, and 4000 in Yamunotri. With this, he said that considering the transportation, lodging, food, parking, geographical conditions of the state and the ability to visit the temple, and the capacity of the temple premises, this decision has been taken. He told that at present this arrangement has been made for the first 45 days.
2526 people found suspicious
On the other hand, before the start of Chardham Yatra, a total of 2526 people were found suspicious in the campaign run by the police for physical verification of people coming from outside the state, out of which 10 were arrested. Director-General of Police Ashok Kumar said that on the instructions of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, action has been taken against the remaining suspects found during the 10-day campaign from April 21, under the Police Act and other Acts. During this verification of the employed, traders, street vendors, hawkers, laborers, and tenants who came to the state in the last 10 years.
Earlier, the Chief Minister had said that our state should remain calm and that religion and culture should be preserved. We will try that the people coming from outside are properly verified and such people should not come here due to which the atmosphere in the state is spoiled. Describing Uttarakhand as a peace-loving state as well as a center of religion and culture, the Chief Minister said that there is no place for miscreants, encroachers, and religious fanatics here.
