Providing details of the increasing number of footfalls at Char Dhams, Uttarakhand Tourism Secretary Umakant Panwar said on Saturday that this confirmed that the State has left the dark memory of the catastrophic June 2013 deluge far behind.

He claimed that around 3.33 lakh pilgrims had visited Char Dhams till May 29 and he added that if this trend continued the figure would definitely cross five lakh by the end of June and 10 lakh by the end of the yatra season in October.

“This has augured well for the State and its people, particularly those who earn their livelihood by catering to the needs of the pilgrims,” he said, adding that in 2014, just 2.22 lakh people had embarked on the Char Dham pilgrimage.

He said right now all the four yatra routes were open. “We have built a road leading to Hemkund Sahib by cutting through the blankets of snow. The yatra to this shrine would begin on June 1,” he stated. 

Panwar said they were feeling exulted with the people showing immense enthusiasm for the pilgrimage. As per the data available 3, 22, 341 pilgrims, including 2,600 foreigners, had visited Char Dhams till May 29.

“It means 12,000 to 13,000 pilgrims are visiting the shrines daily-a figure that buttresses our view that our relentless campaign declaring the pilgrimage absolutely safe is yielding the desired result,” Panwar said.  

As per the details, 1,27,704 pilgrims visited Badrinath while that for Kedarnath stands at 69, 591. The figures for Gangotri and Yamunotri are 66,461 and 58,585 respectively. 

He said that the number of registered pilgrims was 1.60 lakh. “However, as things are counted at each of the four Dhams, the number tots up to around 3.22 lakh till May 29,” he said.

“The enthusiasm can be gauged from the figures we have obtained from the private guest houses located along the way to Char Dhams. In Kedarnath alone, Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam has made arrangements of 1,400 beds and the occupancy rate was 90-95 percent, he said.

“This year we have been giving laddu of Chaulai (made of locally available nutritious food grains) to the pilgrims in Badrinath and Kedarnath. The laddu is being prepared by GMVN. We are planning to procure the item from NGOs or Self Help Groups (SHG) too in the coming days,” Panwar said.