Uttarakhand, India (CU)_ As a result of COVID limitations being lifted after two years, the Char Dham Yatra has witnessed an unprecedented crowd of pilgrims this year. The Indo-Tibetan Border Force (ITBP) was deployed to manage the rush of pilgrims at the Kedarnath Temple, which is one of the Char Dhams in Uttarakhand, following the inflow of an unprecedented number of worshippers at the temple location. Since the beginning of the yatra, a total of 28 pilgrims traveling to Kedarnath have lost their lives for various reasons.
A meeting of the Uttarakhand State administration was convened to discuss the measures to be taken to manage the massive number of pilgrims visiting the state for the yatra. It was planned to send the ITBP to Kedarnath to handle the crowds. Additionally, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will aid temples with crowd control. According to Vivek Kumar Pandey, representative of the ITBP, after a massive rush of pilgrims, the force has been deployed to provide security and streamline darshan at Kedarnath Temple. He added, “ITBP has been managing the heavy rush to the Kedarnath temple and the Kedarnath valley”.
Pandey added that over 20,000 devotees are attending and offering their prayers at the temple everyday, and that Sonprayag, Ukhimath, and Kedarnath are overcrowded owing to the visitors’ rush. He stated that the ITBP troops stationed at these sites are closely monitoring the movement of the yatris. Pandey added, “It’s been a week since the portals of the temple were opened on May 6, 2022, and more than 1,30,000 pilgrims have so far visited the Kedarnath Temple”.
The ITBP has also notified its local disaster management teams. Medical teams equipped with oxygen tanks have been dispatched to various locations, and with the assistance of state administration, evacuation and medical emergency exercises are being conducted. ITBP teams have also been working with the temple and civil management at Badrinath Temple to ensure a seamless execution of darshan and the control of the pilgrim crowd.
