The Char Dham Yatra is slated to resume from May 9 but the preparations for the pilgrimage this time appear to be inadequate compared to the arrangements made by the then Congress-led State Government on the previous occasion. Expressing concern at the situation in the State, the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Kishore Upadhyay has written a letter to the State Governor Krishan Kant Paul requesting that necessary instructions be issued to ensure the desired level of preparation for the Char Dham Yatra.
Addressing the media here at the Congress Bhawan on Tuesday, the PCC chief said that in absence of an elected government in Uttarakhand, problems will have to be faced in the facilitation of proper pilgrimage to the Char Dham shrines. He said, “Congress will not let the BJP achieve success in its autocratic ways and will expose the BJP. The absence of an elected State Government in office may have a detrimental effect on the Char Dham Yatra. In this regard, I have written a letter to the State governor requesting improvement of facilities on Char Dham Yatra circuit.”
Upadhyay further said that the political instability here is also affecting the financial condition of the State. In his letter to the Governor, the PCC chief states that he had recently returned from a tour of Rudraprayag, Srinagar, Devprayag, Narendranagar, Haridwar and Rishikesh. He avers, “There is considerable discontent among the public regarding the Central Government’s unconstitutional act of replacing the elected Government with imposition of President’s rule. The people are also worried because the Char Dham Yatra is to resume from May 9 but the arrangements made so far are not like the type of preparations made for the Yatra last year. The people are doubtful on whether prime minister Narendra Modi will be able to facilitate proper Char Dham pilgrimage. About 10 lakh persons had visited Uttarakhand last year for the Char Dham Yatra which also facilitated income generation for thousands of people. Following the devastation caused by the June 2013 disaster, the Char Dham Yatra organised last year had achieved success in providing some succour to the disaster affected. The Congress led State Government was making preparations for the Yatra. I feel that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not like this and violated the constitution to bring down the democratically elected State Government.”
He goes on to State that the Union Government is now responsible for ensuring proper facilitation of the Char Dham Yatra and the Congress will not remain silent if the Union Government fails to efficiently discharge its responsibility regarding the Yatra which would also exert a detrimental effect on the economic interests of Uttarakhand. Upadhyay has requested the governor to communicate the party’s concerns to the Union Government and to issue the necessary orders towards proper arrangements for the pilgrimage.