Due to improved facilities a record number of 34.10 lakh people visited the Char Dham shrines and Hemkund Sahib this year. This number is about 22.6 per cent higher than the number of visitors to the Char Dham shrine last year. The Char Dham Yatra began on May 7 with opening of Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines for the public and will end on November 17 with closure of Badrinath shrine for the winter.
As the weather is pleasant during May and June, the pilgrimage was at its peak during these months. There was a slight drop from July due to the advent of the rainy season but it picked up pace again from September.
As a result, compared to the 27.81 lakh pilgrims last year, about 34.10 lakh pilgrims visited this year. All the said shrines were visited by more people than in the previous year. The most striking numbers are from Kedarnath which was visited by about 7.31 lakh people last year and was visited by a record 10 lakh pilgrims this year. Helicopters of various companies operating on the route carried out 20,915 flights with more than one lakh persons reaching Kedarnath by helicopter.
State’s Tourism and Culture Minister Satpal Maharaj specially thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for infrastructural works undertaken on a war footing as part of the reconstruction project.
The PM himself has visited Kedarnath on various occasions to pay obeisance to the lord and review the reconstruction works. After he spent a night at a cave near Kedarnath, the cave has become a special attraction among visitors.
The State’s tourism secretary Dilip Jawalkar said that the consistent increase in number of people undertaking the Char Dham Yatra is an indication of the local economy’s strength. The local residents are also being provided subsidies for building home-stays on the Yatra route under the Pundit Deendayal home-stay scheme.
According to official data, the largest number of pilgrims visited Badrinath as in past years. A total of 11.74 lakh people visited Badrinath this year compared to 10.48 lakh last year. Similarly, 4.65 lakh visited Yamunotri this year compared to 3.94 lakh last year. Gangotri was visited by 5.30 lakh this year compared to 4.47 lakh last year. Hemkund Sahib was visited by 2.40 lakh this year compared to 1.59 lakh last year.
