StatesUttarakhand
Char Dham Yatra crosses 60 lakh pilgrims, a record, says Dhami
The Uttarakhand Chief Minister said the pilgrimage, still under way before the shrines close for winter, has drawn more devotees than in any earlier year.
Key points
- About 60 lakh pilgrims have done the Char Dham Yatra this year, Dhami said.
- He said the figure is higher than any previous year.
- Kedarnath's doors are due to close for winter on 11 November.
More than 60 lakh pilgrims have made the Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand this year, the highest number ever, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said in Dehradun on Friday.
“So far, 60 lakh pilgrims have undertaken the Char Dham Yatra, and the pilgrimage is still ongoing,” Dhami said. He said the figure was higher than in any earlier year, and that turnout had been strong both in the opening weeks and in the season after the monsoon.
The yatra takes in the four Himalayan shrines of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri, which close for the winter each year. The doors of Kedarnath Dham are due to shut on 11 November.
Dhami said pilgrim numbers at Kedarnath, which fell sharply after the disaster there, rose substantially after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the shrine. He said a master plan for Badrinath Dham is being drawn up and that work is moving quickly, and that preparations have begun for the coming Kumbh Mela. He did not give details of either.
The Chief Minister was speaking at a drug-awareness run organised by voluntary groups in the city. He said Uttarakhand had resolved to become drug-free through awareness campaigns, action against peddlers and the help of voluntary organisations, and credited Modi with identifying drug addiction among young people as a major challenge.
The government has not released a shrine-by-shrine breakdown of this year’s numbers.