A day after the start of the Char Dham Yatra, more than 42,000 e-passes have been issued to pilgrims from the official website of the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board. More than 2,530 people had visited the Char Dham shrines till Sunday evening.
It will be recalled that after the Uttarakhand high court vacated its stay on the pilgrimage on September 16, the State government issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the Yatra as per the court orders and started the pilgrimage on September 18.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has expressed happiness at the successful start of the Char Dham Yatra. The State’s Tourism and Culture minister said that the pilgrims are also enthusiastic about the start of the pilgrimage and for undertaking the Yatra.
The Tourism secretary Dilip Jawalkar said that the conduct of the Yatra will also give a boost to tourism in the state. The Badrinath MLA and Devasthanam Board member Mahendra Bhatt along with other members of the board have expressed happiness at the start of the Char Dham Yatra.
It will be recalled here that as per the SOPs, a total of 800 visitors are allowed to visit Kedarnath per day, 1,000 are allowed to visit Badrinath daily, 600 in Gangotri and 400 in Yamunotri. The pilgrims coming from outside Uttarakhand are required to register on the Dehradun smart city portal http://smartcitydehradun.uk.gov.in and secure the e-pass from the Devasthanam Board website www.devasthanam.uk.gov.in or http://Badrinath-Kedarnath.uk.gov.in.
Garhwal commissioner and Devasthanam Board chief executive officer Ravinath Raman informed that 1,645 e-passes were issued for Badrinath, 2,160 for Kedarnath, 788 for Gangotri and 598 for Yamunotri on Sunday.
A total of more than 42,000 e-passes have been issued to people wanting to visit the Char Dham shrines. These include- till Sunday afternoon- 9,899 for Badrinath, 18,934 for Kedarnath, 4,727 for Gangotri and 4,361 for Yamunotri. All necessary Covid protocols and other aspects in the SOPs are being observed in the pilgrimage.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Char Dham shrines are closed to the public for the winter by the middle of November.
