Friday, 10 June 2022 | PNS | Joshimath/Dehradun
More than 18 lakh people have visited the Char Dham shrines and Hemkund Sahib Gurudwara since the pilgrimage began with reopening of these shrines earlier last month. According to information provided by the State government, a total of 18,64,965 people had visited the Char Dham shrines and the Gurudwara till Thursday late evening. Out of these, 2, 48,025 have visited Yamunotri while 3,32,648 have visited the Gangotri shrine. Both these shrines located in Uttarkashi district were reopened for the public on May 3. Similarly, Kedarnath in Rudraprayag district has been visited by 6,04,446 persons since it was reopened to the public on May 6 whereas Badrinath in Chamoli district has been visited by 6,28,186 persons since it was reopened for the public on May 8. Hemkund Sahib Gurudwara in Chamoli district which was reopened on May 22 has been visited by 51,660 persons since then. On Thursday, 6,888 people visited Yamunotri, 9,049 visited Gangotri, 17, 818 visited Kedarnath and 16,960 visited the Badrinath temple while 4,211 visited the Hemkund Sahib Gurudwara.
It is also pertinent to mention here that at least 125 persons died in the first 30 days of the pilgrimage. The State government has put a system of health screenings of the pilgrims in order to ensure that those with serious ailments are sent back or cautioned. So far a total of 2,70,502 persons have been screened and 95 out of them were sent back. The authorities also received undertakings from 3,554 persons who were found to be suffering from serious ailments but insisted on undertaking the pilgrimage at their own risk. While 91,628 pilgrims have so far accessed OPD service, 6853 have received emergency service with 550 persons being injured, 446 persons being referred by ambulance and 31 being referred by helicopter to high centres for treatment.
