Uttarakhand govt moves HC seeking increase in Char Dham pilgrims, files affidavit

Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami led govt on Friday moved the High Court demanding an increase in the limit of devotees visiting the four dhams - Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. The state government has filed an affidavit in this regard.

Dehradun: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami-led government Friday has moved the Uttarakhand High Court demanding an increase in the limit of devotees visiting the four dhams and has filed an affidavit in this regard. The matter is likely to be heard on Monday or Wednesday.

At present, due to a limit fixed on the number of pilgrims visiting Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri dhams, many devotees are forced to return without darshan. It is known that the high court had allowed darshan of 800 pilgrims daily in Kedarnath Dham, 1,200 in Badrinath, 600 in Gangotri and 400 in Yamunotri.

Chardham Yatra had begun in Uttarakhand on September 18. After the commencement of the yatra, devotees from all over the country had registered in large numbers. But, the reality is, at present only 50 per cent of the registered devotees are reaching the Dham for darshan and by noon the pilgrimage sites are going vacant. Hence, the Dhami government decided to move the court seeking an increase on the limit of devotees reaching the state for Char Dham yatra.

The HC on September 16 had lifted a ban on the Char Dham Yatra making Covid guidelines mandatory. The court was hearing the plea filed by the State government seeking the resumption of yatra in the state. Hearing the plea, the court said people travelling to visit Badrinath, Dwaraka, Puri and Rameswaram have to be fully vaccinated and must carry the Covid negative reports along with them.

The court had also issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) for devotees visiting the four dhams. Registration and e-pass will be mandatory for the 'darshan' and it is also necessary to have either the doses of Covid-19 vaccine or Covid negative report not older than 72 hours. For devotees from Kerala, Maharashtra & Andhra Pradesh, a Covid negative report has been made mandatory, regardless of having taken the vaccine.