Char Dham Yatra started on May 3 this year and a huge number of pilgrims have reached.
Char Dham Yatra, has started on May 3 it includes Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath and a huge number of pilgrims have reached there which lead to traffic jams on the road and many pilgrims have died & According to the Uttarakhand government, 91 pilgrims have died.
After Chardham Yatra began on May 3, 3.35 lakh devotees visited Kedarnath, 3.15 lakh devotees visited Badrinath, 1.49 lakh devotees visited Yamunotri, and 2 lakh devotees visited Gangotri. Dr Shailja Bhatt (Medicine, Health, Family Welfare) said the number of pilgrims participating in the journey is much higher this year, as Yatra was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 mainly due to the Covid pandemic.
Uttarakhand Director General (DG) Shailja Bhatt cited a heart attack as the main reason for the reported deaths on Friday.
“Most of the pilgrims died of heart attacks, and Chardham’s medical services are stronger than before,” Batt told ANI.
In addition, 169 doctors have been assigned.
When the weather improved, the Kedarnath pilgrims waiting at Sonprayag, Gaurikund and Janki Chatti were able to go to the Himalayan shrine on the morning of May 24th. The pilgrimage was temporarily suspended for two consecutive days on Tuesday due to snow and rain on the Char Dham path.
On May 24, the weather returned to normal, and pilgrims advised to stay in Sonprayag, Gaurikund, and Jankichatti on their way to the temple on May 23 for safety reasons after that they are allowed to continue their trek.
It was also reported that helicopter flights to Kedarnath, which had been suspended due to bad weather, were resumed. Less than a month after Yatra began, a total of 9,69,610 pilgrims visited Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri.
On May 23, due to snowfall and rain, thousands of pilgrims had to suspend their journey to the Kedarnath and Yamunotri shrines in the Garhwal Himalayas.
On May 24, snow began to fall in Kedarnath, showers struck low slopes, and Gaurikund and Sonprayag authorities urged pilgrims to stop for safety.
Due to bad weather in the afternoon, pilgrims heading to Yamunotri also stopped by Junkichatti, the last stop at the famous shrine. It also snowed at the height around Badrinath.
Looks like there’s a flood of devotees in the Char Dham Yatra this year which has led to very serious issues like garbage on the road and traffic jams for hours in Uttarakhand a few days ago a news came that the Shrine Board of Char Dham Yatra has stopped registrations of the devotees to avoid the crowd.
Also read: Char Dham Yatra 2022, a pile of garbage on the roads.