Char Dham Yatra: No cap on number of devotees this year, says Uttarakhand official

Garhwal (Uttarakhand) [India], April 8 (ANI): Garhwal Divisional Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey said that the administration's preparations for the Char Dham Yatra are almost complete. He added that there will be no cap on the number of devotees who can participate in the pilgrimage.
The official said that traffic arrangements, pure drinking water, and parking are the main focus of the preparations.
"Our preparations are almost done. There is a special focus on 3-4 things: traffic arrangements, pure drinking water, and parking. This time, the Yatra route has been divided into sectors of 10 km each. Our officials will travel this 10 km on two-wheelers with walkie-talkies. After the sector, it has been further converted into zones and super zones," Pandey told ANI.
"Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has given very clear directions that the pilgrims should not face any kind of inconvenience. Registration is ongoing; around 13.5 lakh people have registered online so far. This time, there is no cap on the number of pilgrims undertaking the Yatra," he added.
The official also talked about the administration's efforts to make the Yatra 'green' and ensure cleanliness throughout the pilgrimage.
"PM Modi has given a tagline of 'Green Yatra' for this Yatra, so it is being appealed to the pilgrims and field officers have been clearly told that he Dhams have a religious value and their holiness has to be kept intact but it should also be our effort to ensure that there is no garbage on the route and deter the usage of something that is harmful to the environment. People are being motivated towards this, and an alternate is also being made available," Pandey said.
He said that soon after the conclusion of the Yatra, the Chief Minister instructed officials to prepare for this year's.
"Soon after the Char Dham Yatra concluded last year, the Chief Minister gave directions to begin preparations (for this year's Yatra). 2-3 meetings have already been done by the Chief Minister. He takes feedback regarding the preparations every day. I held a meeting at Yatra office in Rishikesh in February and on 5th (April), all DMs, SPs and HoDs of all departments of Garhwal division were present there," Pandey said.
Earlier, as part of the yatra's preparations, a 30-member advance team of the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) reached Badrinath Dham yesterday to oversee and begin restoration and infrastructural arrangements ahead of the annual pilgrimage, said an official statement.
The doors of Badrinath Dham are opening on 4th May. The state government is preparing for the Chardham Yatra before the Yatra, while preparations are being made continuously at the BKTC level for the Yatra.
The weather is clear in Badrinath Dham, although snow can still be seen in some places and on the nearby hills.
The pilgrimage, consisting of four holy sites in Uttarakhand -Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath- is taken out yearly by lakhs of devotees. The pilgrimage typically starts in April/May depending on the weather conditions and continues till November. (ANI)