Uttarakhand: Around 13.5 lakh register for Char Dham Yatra

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], April 8 (ANI): Around 13.5 lakh devotees have registered for the upcoming Char Dham Yatra, with the doors of Badrinath Dham slated to open from May 4, Garhwal Mandal Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey said on Tuesday.
Crucially, there is no restriction on the number of devotees who can attend the four Dhams in Uttarakhand, with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ensuring that devotees get every facility with a safe darshan.
"We are continuing our registration process, till now around 13.5 lakh people have registered for the yatra, the important thing is that there is no restriction on the number of devotees, CM has given clear instructions that whoever wants to do a darshan of Char Dham, they can definitely do it, and it be done without any problems, and with facilities, with the expectation that the yatra is good," the Garwhal Mandal Commissioner told ANI.
According to the division's head, CM Dhami has been checking in daily to get updates regarding the preparations which had started after the conclusion of last year's yatra itself.
"We had started the preparations for this Char Dham Yatra (2025) just after the conclusion of last year's yatra. Chief Minister (Pushkar Singh Dhami) had given us orders then itself to start preparations. There have been at least 2-3 meetings with the Chief Minister regarding this too," Commissioner Pandey said.
"CM takes updates on this daily to check on which stage the preparations have been completed, what are the shortcomings, and how to fix them," he added.
Regarding meetings, he informed that various district officials, including police personnel, zilla officials met on April 5 to get updates on the preparations for devotees, with officials focusing on making sure there is adequate parking, proper health facilities and traffic management.
"In February, and on 5th (April) too, we had a meeting in the Yatra office in Rishikesh where Gharwal Mandal's district officials, zilla officer, police personnel were present, and HoDs of every department were present too. We are almost finished with the preparations. We have focused on 3-4 things, like traffic management, taking care of people's health, and especially making sure parking is there, and holding areas, we have discussed in detail," Garhwal's Commissioner said.
This year, the whole of approximately 1,600 kilometres of yatra have been divided into 10 kilometers of sectors, with police officials in every sector with walkie-talkies and two wheelers to ensure the safety of devotees
"Now, we have divided the yatra's stretch into sectors of 10 kilometres, in which there will be police with walkie-talkies, the sectors are also clubbed into zones and super zones too. CM has given clear instructions that there should be no trouble to devotees," Commissioner Pandey told ANI.
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.
It is worth mentioning that 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)