Char Dham Yatra draws smaller crowd, hence pushed for it: Uttarakhand

DEHRADUN:  Officials in the Uttarakhand government have dismissed claims that there is a contradiction in the government’s policy of cancelling Kanwar Yatra and approaching the Supreme Court to allow Char Dham Yatra, saying there is a large difference in the number of people who attend these events. 

They have dismissed any comparison between Char Dham Yatra and Kanwar Yatra saying while only 4.2 lakh people attended the Char Dham Yatra over four months, about three-four crore people will gather for Kanwar Yatra in a week or two.  

“There is no contradiction at all. Char Dham Yatra is manageable with stringent control measures while Kanwar Yatra can go out of control with 3-4 Crore people travelling to Haridwar with 7-14 days. Our honorable CM has made a bold decision,” said Ravinath Raman, chief executive officer of Char Dham Devsthanam Board who is also the commissioner for Garhwal division of Uttarakhand. 

The CEO of the board which manages the Char Dham Yatra said that number of pilgrims who attend the yatra was controlled by implementing strict measures.