Kedarnath, Badrinath record 38 lakh pilgrims, highest footfall ever

The Badrinath and Kedarnath shrines recorded a footfall of 37.91 lakh pilgrims, highest that has been registered till now. As a result, the Badri Kedar Temple Committee has generated a revenue of Rs 70 crore.

Rudraprayag (Uttarakhand):This year, a record 37.91 lakh pilgrims visited the two Himalayan shrines of Kedarnath and Badrinath following which, Badri Kedar Temple Committee has earned a revenue of Rs 70 crore in the last six months of the yatra season. The footfall is the highest that has been recorded till now. Committee chairman Ajendra Ajay said better arrangements would be made next year onwards in view of the higher turnout of pilgrims.

Kedarnath surpassed Badrinath in terms of the number of pilgrims. While more than 19.61 lakh pilgrims reached Kedarnath Dham this year, Badrinath Dham recorded around 18.4 lakh pilgrims. Both the shrines recorded highest pilgrim footfall individually. The temple committee has earned a total revenue of about Rs 70 crore from Badrinath, Kedarnath, monasteries and temples under it.

It has been found that the four shrines together recorded 54.2 lakh pilgrims in which, Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines recorded 7.3 lakh and 9 lakh pilgrims respectively.

"The pilgrim turnouts recorded at the four shrines have been the highest this time. We are working hard so as to provide better and more elaborate arrangements next year onwards," he added. Till last year, the highest turnout was 32.41 lakh in 2019.

Among the total pilgrims, there was a significant number of VIPs. In Badrinath, there were around 36,000 VIP pilgrims and in Kedarnath there were 15,000 VIPs. The fee of Rs 300 that was charged from VIPs has helped the Badri Kedar Temple Committee to generate a revenue of almost Rs 2 crore in this account.