Appeals to visitors and locals to follow guidelines & cooperate with authorities
Monday, 13 MAY 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Bharatiya Janata Party State president Mahendra Bhatt expressed concern at crowds beyond capacity reaching the Char Dham shrines. He appealed to the pilgrims and locals to follow the government’s guidelines and cooperate with the administration. Greeting the people on the reopening of the Badrinath temple on Sunday, Bhatt alleged that the Congress is not in favour of the rising popularity of the Sanatan temples in Uttarakhand and the economic benefit from this.
The BJP State president also took a serious note of the jam on the routes to Yamunotri and other Char Dham while opining that the enthusiasm of Sanatanis is at peak and that good arrangements have been made for road transport, accommodation, electricity, water and health, among other aspects. This is the reason why a record number of people are visiting Uttarakhand from the first day of the commencement of the Yatra, he said. “The State government under chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has made proper arrangements for those undertaking the Yatra. The limit for online and offline registration has also been fixed considering the carrying capacity of the Char Dham. However, the number of devotees reaching the Char Dham is much higher than expected due to their enthusiasm to pay obeisance to the lord. The activeness and sensibility of the police and administration are appreciable considering the manner in which they controlled the crowds of devotees and made the pilgrimage systematic,” Bhatt said.
Considering the experience of the initial days of the Yatra, he appealed to pilgrims coming from outside the State and the locals to follow the government guidelines. The guidelines are issued considering past experiences, accommodation and traffic capacity in the Char Dham and their routes along with other essential facilities so the cooperation of travelers is essential for a safe experience. Referring to the locals, especially the business fraternity, he said that the government wants to strengthen the State’s economy with a successful Yatra. “We must understand that the pilgrimage should be safe in order to succeed. Everybody’s cooperation is essential to enable the authorities to maintain the system and control the traffic. Considering the numbers witnessed in the initial days, it is clear that the number of pilgrims this year will break all past records,” he said.
Addressing allegations levelled by the opposition, Bhatt said that while in office, the Congress remained apathetic towards the development of Char Dham. The Congress did not even consider improving the roads leading to these important centres of Sanatan Dharm. He alleged that the Congress is spreading propaganda regarding the Yatra to dent the image of the State. This will also impact the economy, in accordance with the Congress’ policy, Bhatt said.
