Dehradun: The Char Dham yatra in Uttarakhand has seen a significant surge in pilgrim numbers. As of now, more than 8 lakh pilgrims have participated in the pilgrimage, and around 30 lakhs have registered for the Yatra. Seeing this unprecedented surge in pilgrim’s influx, the government has banned the offline registration till 31 May which has resulted in protest and agitation of pilgrims at offline centres in Haridwar and Rishikesh. Around 4000 pilgrims went back to their homes seeing no hopes for registration.
Agitated pilgrims protested at city magistrate office in Haridwar
For the ongoing Char Dham yatra in Uttarakhand, many pilgrims have reached Rishikesh and Haridwar without registration. Since they were not allowed to proceed they had to stay in the transit camps made in these cities. To accommodate these pilgrims, the administration has started temporary registration which was closed later. Agitated on this, the pilgrims sat on dharna in the Haridwar city magistrate office on Tuesday. More than 300 passengers are stranded here who are adamant that they will not return without completing their pilgrimage.
4000 pilgrims returned from Rishikesh
As per the sources, around 4000 pilgrims returned from Rishikesh as registration windows were closed. Seeing no hopes further, they cancelled their pilgrimage plan and returned. One pilgrim from Indore, Madhya Pradesh said, “We have been staying here in Rishikesh from 15 May and we don’t see any hope for registration till 31 may. Without registration, pilgrimage is not possible so we are getting back to our home.”
Offline registrations are closed till 31 May
Witnessing a record-breaking surge in pilgrim’s footfall, the Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami instructed to put a ban on offline registration for Char Dham Yatra till 31st May in the review meeting on Saturday. He also instructed that devotees should be sent to the four shrines according to the carrying capacities of these shrines.
Temporary registration for 12,000 pilgrims stuck in Rishikesh
After this suspension of offline registration, around 12,000 pilgrims were stuck in Rishikesh transit camps. Then, the administration initiated temporary registration for these pilgrims on Sunday but it was closed soon leaving the pilgrims in lurch. According to the transit camp administration only 1,175 pilgrims were given access to offline mode of registration. Afterwards, at this mismanagement, the agitated pilgrims gheraoed the Haridwar SDM Ajayveer Singh and protested against the administration. Besides, the Char Dham yatra administration returned 170 vehicles on Sunday and Monday finding no registration done by the vehicle owners.
CM took review meeting for smooth yatra operation
For better crowd management in shrines and on yatra routes, the CM Dhami has instructed the Garhwal commissioner and inspector general (IG) police to make a diversion plan. He also instructed for ensuring the number of devotees in the four shrines is determined according to the number of devotees. He said that tour operators should be instructed to bring devotees for Char Dham pilgrimage only after coordinating with the Tourism Department.
A huge surge in pilgrim’s footfall this year
During 2023 Char Dham yatra, the Himalayan shrines witnessed a record-breaking 56,13,635 pilgrims, surpassing the previous year’s numbers by more than 10 lakhs. The Kedarnath temple, in particular, holds immense reverence and draws visitors from across India during the six months when it is open. Among the four holy shrines of Char Dham—Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath—the maximum number of pilgrims, approximately 3.52 lakh, have visited Kedarnath shrine in the last 10 days this year.
