Friday, 28 April 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
In a bid to reach out to the maximum number of pilgrims coming from different parts of the country for the Char Dham Yatra, the State Health department has issued a fresh SOP for pilgrims in nine Indian languages. The SoP has been issued in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Oriya, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Telugu and English languages. Releasing the SoP, the health secretary R Rajesh Kumar said that the pilgrims would get benefitted by the SoP in their native language. He said that the district magistrates have been directed to publicize the SoPs given in different languages and should be uploaded on the district level portals.
He said that the pilgrims should come prepared for the Yatra and study the SoP. They should acclimatise themselves before commencing the Yatra and contact the nearest health centre in case of any emergency. He said that all the pilgrimage sites in the Char Dham Yatra are located in the high Himalayan region, whose altitude is more than 2700 meters above sea level. Travellers in these places can be affected by extreme cold, low humidity, extreme ultraviolet radiation, low air pressure and low oxygen content.
The advisory says that special care should be taken of the pilgrims who are above 55 years of age, pregnant women, patients with history of heart disease, hypertension, asthma and diabetes and obese patients. It asks the pilgrims to ensure medical and trek preparedness before travel as high altitude can cause medical issues. The people above 55 years of age or the patients of heart disease, asthma, hypertension and diabetes should get a health check-up done to ensure fitness for the trip. The pilgrims with pre-existing conditions must carry all existing medication and test devices and contact number of the home physician. The advisory asks the pilgrims to visit the health centres, kiosks and health facilities and get their health checked out. Additionally, in case of any medical emergency, the pilgrims should contact the 104 helpline number.
