After Kedarnath Crowd Chaos, Uttarakhand Govt Unveils New Rules For Char Dham Pilgrims

Dehradun: After the huge crowd gathered at Kedarnath Dham recently and the video going viral on social media, the Uttarakhand government has decided to make a major change in the arrangements of Chardham Yatra. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has given clear instructions to the officials that arrangements for the darshan of the devotees should be made according to the capacity of the four Dhams. A detailed SOP will be prepared for this soon. 

According to initial estimates of the administration, after the implementation of the new rules, the crowd at major stops may reduce by about 38 percent.

What will happen if there is more crowd than capacity?

The government has decided that if more devotees reach any Dham or stop than the prescribed limit, then they will be stopped at the holding area below and the main checkpoints. Passengers and vehicles will be sent forward gradually in a phased manner so that chaos and stampede-like situations are not created in the Dhams. With this, the number of devotees present in the Dhams at one time can be reduced by 38 percent.

Will passengers get every moment's information?

The chief minister has asked the officials to continuously inform the devotees about the waiting time, crowd situation, road closure, change in weather and traffic jams. For this, LED display, public information system, social media and FM radio will be used so that passengers do not face any problem or confusion.

Will there be a ban on traveling at night?

There will be a ban on plying of passenger trains on the Chardham Yatra route from 10 pm to 4 am. Heavy goods trains will be allowed to run only at night. The government believes that this will reduce jams and accidents on the roads.

Will necessary facilities be available in the holding area?

The government has ordered that where the devotees will be stopped, food, drinking water, toilets, parking and other basic facilities should be provided. In view of the weather problems, relief and rescue equipment, ambulances, JCB machines and satellite phones will also be deployed at sensitive places.

Did anxiety increase after the viral video?

In the last few weeks, many videos of crowds, long lines and chaos from Kedarnath Dham have gone viral on social media. In some videos, devotees were seen crossing the barricade and the situation was deteriorating. Only after this has the government issued new instructions regarding crowd management and security.