Dehradun: The sacred portals of the Kedarnath and Yamunotri located in the high Garhwal Himalayan region of Uttarakhand were closed for winter on Thursday. Kedarnath yatra, this year, has marked a milestone as a business of a total of 211 crore rupees has been done at Kedarnath and Yamunotri Yatra by traveling fare of horse mules, heli tickets, and Dandi Kandi (palanquin).
Amid this season's visit, the devotees have boosted the use of horse mules than helicopters to commute during the yatra. The horse carrier has marked an estimated business of over 100 crores in the first three months itself as the number of devotees reached more than four lakhs.
Also read: Doors of Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand closed for winter
To facilitate the journey, the administration had registered 8664 mules of 4302 horse owners, and around, 5.34 lakh pilgrims traveled to Kedarnath Dham by riding horse mules. At the same people earned around 86 lakh rupees through dandi-kandi while the helicopter companies earned around 75 crore rupees. According to the helicopter providers, about 1.5 lakh devotees traveled by helicopter.
First time in the history of the Kedarnath Yatra that more than fifteen lakh pilgrims reached Kedarnath Yatra and due to the hike in the number of devotees, the local people found employment. At the same time, those who run shops, hotels, homestays, or horse-mule on the travel routes also earned a good sum of money.
