A record number of pilgrims are likely to arrive for the Char Dham yatra in Uttarakhand this season too, with more than 60,000 of them registering already for the pilgrimage to Badrinath and Kedarnath over the past two days only, officials said on Thursday.
Registration for the two Himalayan temples began on Tuesday while registration for Gangotri and Yamunotri will begin after the dates for the opening of their portals are announced formally.
Over the past two days only, a total of 61,250 pilgrims have registered for Badrinath and Kedarnath, which open on April 27 and April 25 respectively, Deputy Director, Tourism, Yogendra Gangwar said on Thursday.
A record number of more than 47 lakh pilgrims had visited the Char Dham temples last year and the number is likey to increase this year, Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee Chairman Ajendra Ajay said. "The initial registrations for the yatra are an indication that the number of pilgrims is going to unusually high this time as well," he told PTI.
When asked whether the land subsidence problem in Joshimath would deter pilgrims, he said the state government has taken all precautionary measures to ensure a safe and smooth yatra including establishment of a disaster control room and permanent deployment of a BRO team in the town.
"Land-subsidence and landslides are usual problems in the hills which are addressed as they come. Some people are unnecessarily creating panic," Ajay said. Gangwar said a QR code system has been introduced for the first time for the annual yatra.
A QR code will be sent on the mobile phone of pilgrims after registration on the basis of which they will get the tokens for visiting the temples, he said. Prior registration for the yatra will be mandatory not only for pilgrims coming from outside the state but also for those coming from within it, the official said.
To avoid chaos and overcrowding, which was evident in the initial days of the yatra last year, a daily limit may also be imposed on the number of pilgrims visiting the temples. However, the administration is yet to take a call on it, Gangwar said.
A daily limit on the number of pilgrims visiting the temples particularly Badrinath is necessary especially in view of the land subsidence crisis in Joshimath, which is considered the gateway to the Himalayan temple.
Experts have also suggested a study of the carrying capacity of the major places en route to the temples ahead of the yatra, especially in view of the conditions in Joshimath where cracks and fissures continue to appear in the roads and buildings. The process of issuing green cards to vehicles operating on the Char Dham Yatra route will begin in the last week of March, joint roadways Commissioner S K Singh said.
A physical inspection of the vehicles operating on the route will be conducted before issuing green cards to them, he added. With only two months left for the beginning of the yatra, preparations for it are going in full swing.
In view of the conditions prevailing in Joshimath, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has directed the disaster management authority to open a disaster control room there to constantly monitor the situation during the yatra season.
He has also asked the BRO to station a team of its personnel permanently in the town to repair any new cracks in roads in case they develop. Dhami has also asked the PWD to repair the potholes on the roads under its charge along the yatra route well before the pilgrimage begins in April. There were reports of cracks appearing in a stretch of the national highway leading to Badrinath near Joshimath recently.
