Unlock 5: Uttarakhand relaxes cap on daily pilgrims for Char Dham, e-passes to continue

DEHRADUN: In another step to ensure hassle- free religious tourism in the state, the Uttarakhand government on Sunday increased the number of pilgrims allowed daily at Char Dham shrines- Kedarnath Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri.

Chopper services for Kedarnath will also resume on October 9, said officials.

“The limit of per day pilgrim allowed has been increased in all four shrines from Monday,” Ravinath Raman, chief executive officer of Char Dham Devsthanam Board and commissioner of Garhwal division of Uttarakhand, said.

“However, e-passes will be issued on the basis of availability of accommodation, food, toilet and other arrangements, including social distancing, as assessed by respective district magistrates. This has been necessitated following increased footfall of pilgrims after Unlock- 5,” he added.

The limit of per day visitors to Badrinath has been increased to 3,000 while the same number of pilgrims will be allowed every day from Monday in Kedarnath. 900 pilgrims will be allowed at Gangotri and the number of pilgrims visiting Yamunotri has been fixed at 700.

Earlier, the number of pilgrims had been fixed at 800 for Kedarnath, 1,200 for Badrinath, 600 for Gangotri and 400 for Yamunotri shrine.

Last week, the state government had exempted pilgrims from producing Covid-19 negative test report to visit the Char Dham shrines. More than 38 lakh pilgrims travelled to the four shrines last year.