Rishikesh, February 5: An official announced that 40% of registrations for the upcoming Chardham Yatra will be conducted offline this year.
This decision was made during a meeting of the yatra management committee led by Garhwal Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey. The Chardham Yatra kicks off annually in April-May, with the Badrinath temple set to reopen on May 4, while the reopening dates for Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri will be confirmed soon.
Pandey explained that the offline registration option is intended to alleviate the difficulties faced by rural pilgrims during the last yatra, where they struggled due to the absence of offline registration.
The committee also established that the order of travel to the Himalayan temples will be orderly, with pilgrims receiving their slots based on the sequence of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath. Last year, this order was not consistently maintained.
Pandey instructed the Public Works Department to ensure that all necessary work on the Chardham Yatra routes is finalized by April 15.
Additionally, it was decided to assign a squad of Cheetah Police or a Hill Patrolling Unit every 10 kilometers along the Yatra route this time.
Inspector General of Police Rajiv Swaroop from the Garhwal Division also participated in the meeting.
A fleet of approximately 2,000 buses is ready for the Chardham Yatra, with further arrangements for more buses from the Kumaon Division if needed.
