Saturday, 25 MAY 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
A total of 52 pilgrims have died so far during the Char Dham Yatra in the State which started on May 10-12 with the opening of portals of Kedarnath, Yamunotri, Gangotri and Badrinath Interacting with the media persons the Garhwal commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey said that death of 23 pilgrims has occurred in Kedarnath while 14, 12 and three pilgrims have died in Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri respectively. He said that most of the dead were aged above 60 years and had cardiac issues. Pandey said that regular screening of the pilgrims is being done and those with co-morbidity are advised not to undertake Yatra. He however added that many pilgrims are doing Yatra against the advice and for this they are filling a form as well.
He said that so far 9,64,302 pilgrims have visited the Char Dhams in the State which is double the number of pilgrims that had come for Yatra last year in the same period. The officer made it clear that use of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) for crowd management will be done when required.
Pandey said that chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is monitoring the Yatra and he has emphasised on safety of the pilgrims. The CM has directed that the pilgrim should be provided basic amenities at the holding points. Pandey said that about 7,500 pilgrims are staying in transit camps in Rishikesh and Haridwar. These pilgrims are staying there after closing of the offline registration system. He said that on the orders of CM these pilgrims are being sent for Yatra in groups with reduction in pilgrim load in the shrines.
Pandey claimed that the Yatra is going on smoothly in the State and efforts are being made to make better arrangements for the pilgrims. On the orders of CM two officers have been deputed to maintain sanitation in the shrines. The sector magistrates will send a report of sanitation every two hours.
He accepted that at the start of the Yatra problems of traffic jams were reported due to the surge in the number of pilgrims. In some cases the registration of pilgrims was found fake. In such cases FIRs have been registered against the tour operators. Pandey said that Char Dham Yatra plays an important role in the tourism industry and it helps in the economy of the State.
