The Garhwal commissioner Vinod Sharma has directed officials of the revenue, police, Public Works Department and tourism departments to conduct a joint inspection of the Char Dham Yatra routes and resolved the issues found within one month. The commissioner said this while chairing a meet to review preparations for the Char Dham Yatra in the provisional state capital on Tuesday.
Addressing officials, the commissioner directed that basic facilities like potable water supply and adequate number of public toilets must be ensured on the Char Dham Yatra circuit before start of the pilgrimage season in summer this year. In case of any exigency, officials of the administration should be in contact with the pilgrims. Along with Badrinath and Kedarnath, special attention will also have to be given to Yamunotri and Gangotri. Sharma said that officials concerned should ensure that wherever the road needs to be repaired, parapets and signage need to be put up or public facilities need to be provided on the Yatra route, the work should be identified and done through the department concerned on time. Special care should be observed in the accident-prone areas. In the areas prone to landslide, a system should be facilitated to ensure that the road does not remained blocked to traffic for long. In order to facilitate this, mechanical excavators and other essential equipment along with capable officers/engineers should be posted at such identified locations.
The commissioner directed officials of the transport department to ensure that the fitness of buses and other vehicles plying on the Yatra route is ascertained. A constant vigil should be maintained specifically to check instances of overloading and driving under the influence of alcohol. Stringent action should be taken against those found guilty of either, he said. During the Char Dham Yatra, the rate list of food and drink items should be mandatorily displayed at eateries along the Yatra circuit. Officials of the district administration should conduct random checking in their respective areas to check whether the rate list is being displayed as required. A ‘Yatra’ board should also be displayed on buses transporting pilgrims, apart from which the phone number of the person concerned should also be displayed on all buses and taxis so that the travelers to register their complaint in case a driver flouts traffic regulations. Sharma said that parking facility should also be provided for at various places on the Char Dham Yatra circuit.
Vehicles should be permitted according to the capacity in order to avoid traffic jam and other disorder. There should also be coordination between police teams posted at different places on the Yatra route. The Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam should spruce up its rest houses on time while the Sulabh International organisation should prepare an action plan for facilitation of mobile toilets on the pilgrimage routes. Sharma directed officials of the Border Roads Organisation, PWD and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to execute the required repair and improvement works on the Yatra routes before the start of the pilgrimage.
He told officials of medicine and health department to ensure posting of doctors and other staff in combined and primary hospitals along with temporary medical centres on the Yatra route in addition to which live saving medicines, equipment, portable oxygen cylinders and ambulances should also be arranged for. The tourism department will set up adequate number of counters for the photometric registration of Char Dham pilgrims. An enquiry centre at the Char Dham Yatra bus terminal in Rishikesh and a tool free number will also be facilitated.