Char Dham Yatra is on its peak in Uttarakhand this time, while Kedarnath in Rudraprayag district has attracted record footfall
Representational image. ANI
After a day’s break, the pilgrimage to Kedarnath resumed again on Wednesday. The Yatra to Kedarnath was stopped due to snowfall and bad weather on 24 May and the devotees were asked to remain at the point/stopover they were staying and proceed only after the weather clears. Sonprayag and Guptkashi were packed with pilgrims and the chopper service to Kedarnath became operational. Clear weather provided big relief to the tourists.
This time, Kedarnath in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district has attracted record footfall. The annual Char Dham Yatra to Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri is on its peak in Uttarakhand. The response of the devotees has taken the tourism experts by surprise. Among the four Hindu pilgrimage centres, Kedarnath has attracted the biggest attendance. An unusual trend!
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has made an appeal to pilgrims to suspend their trip to Kedarnath for a brief period due to bad weather. With fresh snowfall on Tuesday, chilling situation prevail in Kedarnath. Besides heavy woolens, the visitors needs raincoats for moving from one place to another in Kedarnath.
The trek to Kedarnath demands high level fitness. A pilgrim has to undertake a tough 14 km walk in high altitude and in challenging conditions, and despite this over 3.2 Lakh tourists have visited the Hindu shrine in just 20 days. The big movement has also raised questions about the carrying capacity of the pilgrimage centre and ways to manage the inflow. The question is valid as 62 pilgrims have so far lost their lives due to heart attack and other health reasons at Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. Photographs and videos of garbage piling up in Kedarnath have created a stir on social media.
After the 2013 flash floods, Kedarnath has constantly remained in media glare. Regular visits by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has helped Kedarnath create bigger hype. It was generally witnessed that Badrinath used to pull a higher crowd than Kedarnath. This time Badrinath has received 3,18,396 footfalls, Kedarnath a record 3,20,833, Gangotri 1,90,482 and Yamunotri 1,39,899. These are initial figures and are likely to change with each passing day.
Local resident Rakesh Goswami states, “I never saw the Yatra picking in the early stages. This time an amazing scene prevails. After the pandemic, the tourism industry got badly affected. This time the response is providing some solace to people involved in the tourism industry.”
Jump in numbers is fine. But, the demand of the time is better management of pilgrimage centres. Hotels and restaurant operators charging hefty money for their services created headlines. Tourists faced traffic jams on Char Dham routes. People visiting Rishikesh, considered the gateway to Char Dham, on weekends have to face traffic jams for long hours. The bottleneck on national highways with the heavy inflow of tourist vehicles and local vehicles choke the city road and most of the time crossing Rishikesh becomes hard. Reaching Natraj Chowk to Tapovan, a distance of about 5-7 kms, takes over two hours on weekends in the holy city.
What about waste management? Photographs and videos of plastic waste dump at Kedarnath have shocked nature lovers. The visitors throw used water bottles and other plastic waste on riverbanks and other places. Social activist Anoop Nautiyal says, “A tweet on plastic waste in Kedarnath has gone viral. The policy option for Uttarakhand is to widely promote the ideas of responsible tourism. This can be possible only when there are systems in place for collection and processing. Sadly the current situation is unsustainable.”
Anoop Nautiyal presents a simple calculation. He avers, “If 50 lakh pilgrims come for 2022 Char Dham Yatra, spend average 10 days and 50 percent buy three water bottles/day; 7.5 crore plastic bottles would get sold in six months. Apart from water; we have soft drinks, tetra pack juices etc. My wish is to ensure collection and recycling of max plastic bottles!”
The viral photograph and video on plastic garbage pilling up in Kedarnath has forced the Uttarakhand Police to make an appeal to visitors for contributing in keeping the sensitive area clean. Uttarakhand Police’s DGP Ashok Kumar has made an appeal on social media. He said, “On big issue has come to limelight recently. Photograph and videos about garbage pilling up in Kedarnath became viral on social. I would like to request the visitors to throw their waste in open and use the dustbins. kept in hotels and other places. Please contribute in keeping the pilgrimage centres clean.”
The annual Char Dham Yatra to Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri is considered as the backbone of Uttarakhand economy. In the six-month long pilgrimage season, a big influx of tourists is witnessed in the state. While Badrinath and Gangotri are on road head, for reaching Kedarnath and Yamunotri a pilgrim has to walk. Among all, the trek to Kedarnath is toughest of all. The 14 km trek from Gaurikund offers challenging conditions. A visitor needs to carry a raincoat and proper woolens for the trek. People with good fitness cover the 14 km distance in 5-6 hour and average fitness in 8-10 hours.
Chopper service to Kedarnath is available. But, during Yatra season heavy demand for air tickets exists. Leaving, the pilgrims opt for mule ride, palanquin/basket or to undertake the foot march. This time 62 pilgrims lost their lives after falling ill on Char Dham Yatra. Half of the casualties took place at Kedarnath and its route.
In the 2013 flash floods, hundreds of people lost their lives and thousands got stranded in Kedarnath. The Indian Army and Indian Air Force had to launch a massive operation to rescue stuck pilgrims. After the 2013 disaster and recent COVID-19 pandemic, tourism is on a revival path in Kedarnath and other Dhams. The big rush of pilgrims took the local administration by surprise.
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