Chardham yatra not to start till Jun 30

Devasthanam Board took the decision on Monday that Chardham yatra will not be started till June 30.

Dehradun: The chardham yatra will not be started till June 30. The Devasthanam Board took the decision on Monday, its CEO Ravinath Raman said.

The priests, stakeholders and hak-hakookdharis of the four Himalayan temples -- Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri -- also known as "chardham", had urged the authorities not to start the pilgrimage till June 30 in view of the rising number of COVID-19 cases.

The four temples in the Garhwal Himalayas are open but devotees are not being allowed to visit them.

The Uttarakhand government had initially planned to open the famous temples for devotees on a limited scale, along with the rest of the temples in the state, but the priests, hak-hakookdharis and other stakeholders put their foot down opposing the move for safety reasons.

A decision on the chardham yatra will be taken after June 30, the Devasthanam Board CEO said. PTI