Char Dham: VIP darshan ticket fee fixed at Rs 300 per person at Badrinath, Kedarnath Dham

The temple committee resolved to fix Rs 300 as fee for the VIP Darshan at Badrinath and Kedarnath Dham, besides approving the Rs 76 crore Char Dham Yatra budget for the financial year 2023-24.

Dehradun (Uttarakhand): A board meeting of the Shri Badri Kedar Temple Committee (BKTC) was held on Monday where important decisions related to the upcoming 'Chardham Yatra' were taken. According to official sources, the meeting resolved to fix a fee for VIP darshans at Badrinath and Kedarnath Dham and also approved of the budget outlay of about 76 crores for the financial year 2023-24 for the Char Dham Yatra.

Source said that the budget proposal for the upcoming financial year 2023-24 was approved in the meeting chaired by Badri Kedar Temple Committee chairman Ajendra Ajay. Resolutions to terminate the services of a junior engineer and a female employee of the committee were also adopted in the said meeting.

Ajendra said, "The temple committee will spend nearly Rs 76 crores for the development of Char Dham Yatra. Several arrangements will be made to provide the pilgrims with a comfortable stay during their Chardham Yatra. Several other facilities will also be increased for the darshan in the temples."

Talking to ETV Bharat after the board meeting, Ajendra said "The temple committee had been brainstorming on the budget for the Chardham Yatra for a long time. Several strategies were chalked regarding the facilities to be provided to the pilgrims."

The approved budget will be used to conduct the Chardham yatra smoothly and the pilgrims will not have to face any problems during the pilgrimage. The money will also be spent on developing facilities in the Badrinath Dham and Kedarnath Dham, he said.

Ajendra further said that a fee of Rs 300 per person has also been fixed for special darshans for VIPs at Badrinath and Kedarnath Dham. Some other important decisions taken in the meeting were that no employee of BKTC will accept donations or 'Dakshina' on the temple premises and a Hi-tech system will be implemented for the calculation of donations and Dakshina.

The committee will also provide EPF facilities to the employees of BKTC. An Ashtadhatu (octo-alloy) Trishul weighing 100 kg will be installed in Kedarnath and BKTC will once again start making Ayurvedic products in the Vidyapeeth Pharmacy located in Guptkashi, he said.