Uttrakhand Tour and Travels Welfare Association (UTTWA) has demanded the State Government to stop the discourse of a noted religious leader Morari Bapu slated to start in Kedarnath on May 20 while citing the acute accommodation problem the pilgrims are facing in the shrine with most of Government and private hotels and lodges remaining booked for the disciples of Bapu in advance.
They further said that taking advantage of the situation, the helicopter charter companies engaged in providing helicopter flights to ferry the pilgrims are cancelling their prior bookings and doubling the rates for their services. They said that the State Government must intervene while wondering why the State Government had given permission for such a discourse in the first place when the pilgrimage was reaching its peak. They warned of a full-blown agitation in case the State Government refuses to intervene.
Addressing a Press conference at Haridwar Press Club on Friday, president of the association Ashutosh Chandel said they have failed to understand why the State Government has given permission for the discourse in the first place despite being aware of the hardships it would land the ordinary pilgrims when they are thronging the shrines in their thousands. “Accommodation facilities being scarce in Kedarnath, the ordinary pilgrims are being forced to shell out extra. We are being flooded with such complaints, but we are helpless,” he said. He also alleged that the aviation companies engaged in providing chopper services to the pilgrims from Sonpryag to Kedarnath valley are exploiting the situation while fleecing them, charging double for their services. Old bookings are being cancelled and tickets are being sold for double the previously fixed rate, added the president of the association.
The association members further alleged that the norms formulated by the National Green Tribunal and the state government involving the pilgrims are being flouted by the organisers of Morari Bapu’s event. “If things are allowed to continue it would deal a severe setback to the tourism sector and it would be most unfortunate when the pilgrimage to the four shrines is gaining the right momentum after a number of years,” said another member of the association.