As many as 890 pilgrims availed chopper services in Kedarnath on the first day that began from October 9. Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority officials said that they received bookings of 2,500 pilgrims in the last five days. Chief executive officer (CEO) of UCADA Ashish Kumar Chauhan said that people taking the helicopters are not counted in the daily limit of pilgrims to the shrine, which is capped at 3,000. CEO of Devasthanam Board, Ravinath Raman, added, “Those who come on helicopters do not stay in the temple area and hence, are exempted from the daily limit. We expect a maximum of 400 people to avail the helicopter service for Char Dham every day.”