The Uttarakhand High Court in a important selection lifted the remain on the Char Dham Yatra paving the way for the state government to welcome devotees from all components of the nation for the pilgrimage. The High Court, which had earlier place a remain on the state cabinet selection to permit Char Dham Yatra in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, also instructed the government to make sufficient arrangements for the Covid-19 testing and other health-related facilities, the Indian Express reported. Hours following the HC selection, the state Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced on Twitter that the Yatra will ensue from September 18. Dhami mentioned that his government welcomes the devotees and pilgrims for the Char Dham Yatra and Hemkund Sahib ji Yatra in the state.
The state government had earlier knocked the door of the Apex Court resorting to the Special Leave Petition against the earlier High Court order of banning the Yatra. The government made a rethink later and withdrew the SLP to only file a overview petition in the High Court against its June 28 remain order. The government lastly got the go-ahead from the High Court having said that, the court did point out the dangers in conducting the pilgrimage occasion. Highlighting the low coverage of vaccination amongst adults (18-44) in the 3 districts that will host the yatra, the court warned that if the infection rises following the entry of outsiders, the residents of these 3 districts would be the most impacted.
The court pointed out that the Chamoli district has only 16 % adults with double vaccination although Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi districts have 22 % and 19 % adult residents with double vaccination respectively.
How will Char Dham Yatra be performed?
In the common operating process submitted just before the court, the government mentioned that it would permit only 1200 pilgrims to stop by the Badrinath temple, 800 pilgrims to the Kedarnath temple, 600 pilgrims to Gangotri(origin of mighty river Ganga) and 400 pilgrims to Yamunotri(origin of Ganga’s tributary Yamuna) on a day-to-day basis. The court pointed out that the quantity of devotees permitted to stop by the Badrinath temple be lowered to 1000 per day although it agreed with the quantity of guests at other holy locations.
Char Dham Yatra recommendations
The pilgrims are also anticipated to generate a damaging Covid-19 test certificate or a double vaccination certificate to obtain entry at the pilgrimage web sites.
The High Court in its order also directed the state police division to post an sufficient quantity of personnel and enforce the Covid-19 protocol at all the pilgrimage web sites.
The court ordered that no pilgrim be permitted to take bath in any of the streams at the holy spots.
The court also ordered the state government to inform the devotees about the nearby wellness facilities which includes availability of beds, availability of a helicopter in case of emergency amongst other folks.