Police have made elaborate security arrangements for ensuring peaceful conduct of Kedarnath Yatra scheduled to begin from Saturday. IG (law and Order) Ram Singh Meena said that on the route to Kedarnath, five police posts have been established at various places including Sonprayag, Gaurikund, Bheembali, lancholi and Kedarnath for the benefit of the pilgrims undertaking the pilgrimage to Kedarnath.
As many as 15 police personnel including a sub-inspector will be posted at Sonprayag and Gaurikund while seven police personnel including a sub-inspector will be posted at Bheembali and lancholi. Seventeen Police personnel including a circle officer and a sub-inspector have been deployed at Kedarnath. The IG said that around 100 devotees at a time will be allowed to trek up the recently rebuilt 28-km pedestrian track from Gaurikund to Kedarnath, while 100 pilgrims would be allowed to stay overnight at Kedarnath.
“Several steps have been taken to ensure that pilgrims on their way to Kedarnath don’t face inconvenience. A team of medical officers will also be available at Gaurikund and Sonprayag to medically examine the devotees free of charge before they start the trek from Gaurikund. “The medical check-up of all those proceeding to Kedarnath will be mandatory since devotees will have to trek through difficult terrain at high altitude before reaching their destination. Medical service will be available 24 hours a day at Gaurikund and Sonprayag,” he added.
It may be mentioned here that the yatras to Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri had come to a grinding halt after disaster struck the State on June 16 and June 17.
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He acknowledged that in some cases which occurred in the city, police are yet to find about motives of the criminals especially in the daylight murders of two women in the state capital recently.
Dehradun police have taken several measures for reducing crimes and if necessary more steps will be taken for restoring confidence of the Doon residents, he added.
ryIJzsrIJ.IJ hIJ e facilitated to redress their problems. While the cultural programmes have been cancelled and are now slated to be held elsewhere, the stalls set up as part of the festivals will remain.
The festival in Ramnagar was to be held from October 3 to 7 but observers question how the Minister and MP continued advocating this event in the face of strong public opposition. It is not practical to undertake activities purportedly for encouraging tourism when the locals themselves are opposed to such events.
The Minister states that such events are vital for publicising the State’s culture but observers question whether performances by artistes from outside Uttarakhand can promote the State’s culture.
Rawat and Maharaj are known for advocating other impractical ideas like aping Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir to establish a tulip garden in Uttarakhand and copying night safaris in Singapore to start the same in the jungles of Corbett tiger landscape in the name of encouraging tourism.
While department officials are reluctant to disclose how much was spent on this event which turned out to be a failure, experts and those involved in the tourism business believe that in stead of aping concepts which other destinations are famous for, the Minister should stop ignoring Uttarakhand’s cultural and environmental wealth and try to capitalise on it in stead of packaging it like already existing tourist attractions outside Uttarakhand.
At a time when well planned measures are needed to convince tourists to visit Uttarakhand, such ill-planned events do more harm to the tourism. While the Minister and BJP leaders trade allegations, it remains to be seen whether the State Government will take any practical measures to encourage tourists to visit Uttarakhand apart from advertising the secure State of tourist destinations post-disaster.
The impact of Government efforts will become evident from Saturday onward when the pilgrimage to Kedarnath and Badrinath is resumed.