Dehradun. In the first two weeks of the Chardham Yatra in Uttarakhand this year, the number of devotees has fallen by 31 percent as compared to last year. This fact has been revealed in the analysis of an environmental organization called ‘SDC Foundation’ in Dehradun. According to the Foundation, a total of 6,62,446 devotees visited Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri from 30 April to 13 May this year, while 9,61,302 devotees from May 10 to 23, the first two weeks of the journey in 2024, reached the Himalayan temples.
Indo-Pak military tension reduction
During this period this year, 2,98,856 pilgrims reached low to visit Chardham, which is a decline of 31 percent. Anoop Nautiyal, the head of the ‘SDC Foundation’, holds the increased tension between India and Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror attack to reduce the number of devotees during this period. He said, ‘Increased military tension between India and Pakistan in recent weeks has definitely influenced their trust and their trust in traveling. During this time, the number of pilgrims declined, especially from the states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan.
There will be boom in the coming days
Despite this decline in the initial days, the ‘SDC Foundation’ is confident that it will accelerate in the coming days. Nautiyal said, ‘Last year’s data shows that the journey usually reached the peak in the second and the first fortnight of June. After the conditions between the two countries are stable, we hope that the number of devotees will now increase.
However, he stressed the need to take steps to improve the war footing by the state government to instill confidence in the parties associated with the Charisat for this. Referring to the steps taken by the ‘Vaishno Devi Shrine Board’ in Jammu and Kashmir after the tension of India and Pakistan, Nautiyal said that similar measures should be taken to increase the number of devotees in Chardham temples.
Increased facilities at the ground level
He said, ‘He (Vaishno Devi Shrine Board) worked fast, started awareness campaigns, increased facilities at the ground and assured pilgrims through communication mediums. We also need similar steps in Uttarakhand. “” SDC Foundation ‘also urged the state government to start immediate discussions from various parties like district administrations, temple boards, hotel businessmen, horses-mule operators, travel agency, business circles and local organizations etc.
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