More than three lakh people have visited the Char Dham shrines so far since the reopening of the Char Dham Yatra in April. The number of people visiting the Char Dham shrines has invigorated the morale of the State Government which has undertaken various measures to make the pilgrimage a
safe and convenient experience for visitors.
According to information provided by the Yatra administration organisation, Rishikesh, on Thursday a total of 11707 people visited the Char Dham shrines. These included 2794 people visiting Gangotri, 1778 visiting Yamunotri, 2061 visiting Kedarnath and 5076 visiting Badrinath.
According to official information, till Thursday evening, a total of 3,09,930 people had visited the Char Dham shrines which included 64014 people visiting Gangotri, 56207 visiting Yamunotri, 66722 visiting Kedarnath and 122987 visiting Badrinath shrine. It will be recalled that the reopening of the Char Dham shrines for the public had taken place last month with Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines being reopened on April 21, Kedarnath on April 24 and Badrinath on April 26.
Following the June 2013 disaster, the major loss of life and severe damage to infrastructure had resulted in a paltry number of people visiting the Char Dham shrines last year. The State Government wants pilgrimage and tourism to be major sources of income for the people of Uttarakhand. In order to achieve this, various measures were taken by the State Government in
addition to repair, reconstruction and development of the disaster affected areas at or on the route of the Char
Dham townships.
The Char Dham Yatra is presently being conducted comparatively smoothly especially compared to last year. However, observers point out that landslides activated with the advent of monsoon
would hamper the smooth flow of traffic along the Char Dham circuit during the
rainy season.