New Delhi, October 24 (IANS). People who had come to visit Kedarnath and Badrinath were seen troubled by the chaos here and the negligence of the administration. People who returned after traveling here told that your journey here can be auspicious only with the faith in God.
In fact, during this journey, especially during the journey to Kedarnath, your safety is left to God’s trust from the moment you leave from Sonprayag for Gaurikund, from where you have to start your journey on foot.
You may have breathing problems due to the cold on the high hill of Kedarnath. But, there is no medical emergency arrangement for you throughout the way. Nor are you going to find any representative of the government or administration in case of any emergency along the entire route. Because, neither is there any medical camp on this yatra route, nor will you see any police administration people here.
A passenger, on the condition of anonymity, said that the terror of the horse-mule owners is so much that they harass the common passengers. We move in a group, pushing them, and even if you meet with an accident during this time, you cannot complain to anyone. If you see the terror of these horse and mule drivers here, the travelers get scared. They take unfair advantage of your problem and extort arbitrary money from you.
The traveler told that the committee charges a huge amount for allowing the horses and mules to run here, about which the horse and mule owners themselves told him. At the same time, the predatory behavior of the shopkeepers and charging arbitrary prices is enough to increase your problems further.
That is, if you are a normal person, you do not have any VIP or VVIP identity, then you should travel to Kedar-Badri with some caution and thinking. This is the personal experience of the people who reached there during the journey. You will get to hear from every person who has reached the walking route of this journey.
The Kedarnath Yatra route has become a hub of complete lawlessness, looting of money by shopkeepers and others. You will not see anything called administration during this journey. The journey starts from Gaurikund. Before that, from Sonprayag you will have to take local transport to reach Gaurikund. For a distance of 5 kilometers you have to pay Rs 50 fare. Because, these local vehicle drivers have arbitrariness here. This 5 kilometer journey will create so much fear in you that you cannot even think. You will then curse the Uttarakhand government that why the government which is claiming to make all the arrangements for this Yatra has kept the initial road route of that Yatra in such a bad condition. This question will arise in your mind why the government does not get its repair work done.
However, the reporting being done from here is also under suspicion because the news of such widespread chaos is not coming out through the media there. In such a situation, the people traveling are not liking the viewpoint of the local administration of Uttarakhand regarding this dream project of PM Narendra Modi.
The walking route from Gaurikund leads to Baba Kedar Dar. That travel route is not visible from anywhere. On this route passing over deep ravines, you will find railings at some places, broken at some places and at some places no railing at all. Big stones will be found scattered throughout the travel route. Your visit will be welcomed by the smell of mud and horse dung. All this will continue with you. Till you complete your journey and reach Baba Kedar’s door. If you are tired and trying to go by horse-mule or palanquin, you will be charged arbitrary money.
People who have returned from the yatra said that you should take responsibility for your own safety because you will not see a single policeman anywhere on the entire yatra route and also if you need any medical facility, you can find a doctor or a doctor anywhere here. Medical stores will not be seen. Along with this, you will have to pay Rs 100 to Rs 200 for a water bottle worth Rs 20 throughout the journey. Apart from this, one may have to pay Rs 400 to 600 per person for food. Apart from this, if you want to drink lemonade on the way, you will have to pay Rs 40 to 100 for it. If you get camp arrangements to stay there before reaching the temple premises, then you may have to pay Rs 4,000 to 10,000 for this also.
A bucket of hot water for bathing will cost Rs 100 to Rs 200 and Baba Kedar’s prasad will cost Rs 500. Along with this, to avoid the inconvenience of standing in line while visiting Baba’s temple, you need the blessings of the priests there, the cost of which can range from Rs 2,500 to Rs 5,000.
People traveling here told that due to the negligence of the administration, horse and mule riders will push you along the journey route. You may become a victim of an accident due to this. But, there are no arrangements made by the government and administration to control these horse-mule riders, nor have any policemen been deployed on the Yatra route to stop them.
There is so much dirt in the entire journey route that your faith and belief gets tarnished just by walking on this dirt. At the same time, if you have enough money to go by heli service and you are also thinking of such a journey, then there is chaos here too. By charging arbitrary amount from people in front of you and keeping you in waiting after getting your confirmed ticket, other passengers who have paid more are being made to travel.
Here in Son Prayag also, if you have to stay in a hotel before starting the journey, you will have to pay arbitrary amount. It seems as if the hotel owners are running an extortion business.
A similar arrangement is also there in the temple of Badri Vishal where Rs 5,100, Rs 11,000 to Rs 15,000 are being charged in the name of silver aarti, gold aarti and abhishek. Here too, food items are so expensive that it is difficult to estimate. Common people are given darshan from outside and are turned back. Whereas they reach the status of Baba by working harder than VIP or VVIP people. Whereas VIP or VVIP people easily get the opportunity to go to the sanctum sanctorum of the Lord. This means that your journey can be auspicious only by trusting God.
–IANS
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