Uttarakhand govt to make new arrangements to facilitate 'Char Dham Yatra'

Preparations are in full swing for this year's 'Char Dham Yatra' with the announcement of the date for the opening of the doors of Kedarnath, Yamunotri, Gangotri and Badrinath dhams.

In view of the record footfall of pilgrims during the Char Dham Yatra last year, this time the government is going to make new arrangements to facilitate the yatra this year.

Officials said that arrangements will be made to control the crowd of devotees during Char Dham Yatra, one of the famous Hindu pilgrimages which take place in the Garhwal Himalayas every year.

"Arrangements are being made for better facilities and arrangements for the pilgrims coming for the Char Dham Yatra," Sachin Kurve, State Tourism Secretary said.

He said that they are planning to introduce a new system to facilitate devotees.

"This year a new system will also be implemented for devotees. This will include separate arrangements from registration to darshan in all four Dhams," Kurve said.

Earlier on Friday, the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami talking to ANI stated that the sacred Char Dham Yatra, one of the most popular Hindu pilgrimages that take place annually in the Garhwal Himalayas will draw in a record number of devotees this year.

CM Dhami stated that many devotees participated in the Char Dham yatra in 2022 and this year the government intends to provide better facilities for pilgrims.

Meanwhile, the doors of Kedarnath Dham will open on April 26, and Gangotri and Yamunotri will open on April 22.

The doors of Shri Badrinath Dham will open the following day on April 27 morning.

As per the tradition, the time and date for the opening of the famous temple were decided at a religious ceremony held at the erstwhile Tehri royal palace on the occasion of Basant Panchami, according to officials of the Badrinath-Kedarnath.

The Badrinath Dham is one of the four ancient pilgrimage sites referred to as 'Char Dham' which also included Yamunotri, Gangotri and Kedarnath. It is situated in the town of Badrinath in Uttarakhand. It remains open for six months every year (between the end of April and the beginning of November).

However, the state government will review preparation for the yatra 15 days prior to its commencement. Since Joshimath lies at the entrance of the yatra and the last major halt before Badrinath, officials will review preparations to ensure that the land subsidence issue does not impact the yatra.