Amrit thoughts. The Uttarakhand government may be excited by the increasing number of devotees visiting Chardham Yatra from year to year, but an NGO located here warned on Thursday that the uncontrolled influx of pilgrims could prove dangerous.
The NGO ‘Social Development for Community (SDC) Foundation’, working in the fields of climate change, environment, urbanization and waste management, has emphasized the need to regularize the daily number of devotees coming to visit Chardham during the yatra.
This year’s Chardham Yatra is starting with the opening of Gangotri and Yamunotri on the festival of Akshaya Tritiya on April 30. The doors of Kedarnath Dham are opening on May 2 while Badrinath’s doors are opening on May 4.
Regarding the decision not to determine the number of devotees coming to the Chardhams of the state government, the founder of the ‘SDC Foundation’ Anoop Nautiyal said that it could pose a serious threat. Nautiyal said, “This means that every registered devotee will be allowed to go to Chardham. It is very important to regularize their number in view of the increasing influx of devotees with every passing year.
The permission of devotees to arrive without regularizing their number on the basis of the ability of these religious places will soon create a situation of congestion and mismanagement, which will harm both the devotees and the sensitive environment of the region. ‘ He said that the SDC Foundation is constantly urging the government to consider the carrying capacity of Chardham sites.
While the government is talking about allowing all the devotees to go to the temples, many people are getting ‘slots’ filled online on their scheduled days. For example, the ‘slots’ of Yamunotri have been filled till 18 May. Nautiyal said that the government had fixed the ratio of 60:40 for online and offline registration in the past.
He said that if a devotee comes to Uttarakhand thinking that everyone will be allowed to visit and then he is sent back without the completion of the ‘slot’, then it will harm the reputation of the state and will cause a chaotic situation. Nautiyal said that instead of celebrating the arrival of devotees breaking the record in Chardham Yatra, the welfare of the health and safety of pilgrims, local ecology and welfare of communities depending on these dhams should be emphasized.
He said that the essence of Chardham Yatra lies in its religious and emotional value that connects devotees to God and provides spiritual renewal. He said that when the calculation of devotees is emphasized, it limits this experience only to statistical achievement. Nautiyal said that the growing crowd is pressurizing the local infrastructure, damaging the delicate ecosystem and also disrupting the sanctity of religious places.
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