Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday stated that the sacred Char Dham yatra, one of the most popular Hindu pilgrimages that takes place annually in the Garhwal Himalayas will draw in record number of devotees this year.

Talking to ANI, chief minister Dhami said, “The date of opening of the portals of Badrinath Dham has been announced, now the focus of the government will be that the yatra should be done in a grand manner.” Dhami stated that a lot of devotees participated in the Char Dham yatra in 2022 and this year the government intends to provide better facilities for pilgrims.

“This year, we are making our preparations beforehand. Work on a Master Plan is also going on in Badrinath. We have to give a lot of facilities to the devotees and make their yatra safe, easy and comfortable. We’ll work towards it with the blessings of Baba Badri Vishal. Only 100 days are left before the Char Dham yatra begins. Our yatra will be record-breaking this year and we are making all the preparations for it,” added Dhami.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, the Uttarakhand Chief Minister said that 70 per cent normalcy has returned to Joshimath, where cracks are appearing in buildings due to land subsidence and that the state government is preparing for the Char Dham Yatra.
Chief Minister Dhami also stated that the Char Dham Yatra would be starting in the next four months.

According to officials, the state government will review preparations for the yatra 15 days prior to its commencement. Since Joshimath lies at the entrance of the yatra and the last major halt before Badrinath, officials will review preparations to ensure that the land subsidence issue does not impact the yatra.

The portals of the Badrinath temple in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district will open on April 27 morning. As per tradition, the time and date for the opening of the famous temple were decided at a religious ceremony held at the erstwhile Tehri royal palace on the occasion of Basant Panchami, according to officials of the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee.

The Badrinath Dham is one of the four ancient pilgrimage sites referred to as ‘Char Dham’ which also includes Yamunotri, Gangotri and Kedarnath. It is situated in the town of Badrinath in Uttarakhand. It remains open for six months every year (between the end of April and the beginning of November).

Last week while speaking to the press, Dhami stated that the Char Dham Yatra would be starting in the next four months.

Meanwhile today, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader also spoke about the BJP National Executive held recently to discuss a road map for the yatra.
The chief minister said, “A detailed work plan was made during the two-day meeting. The meeting was held in the presence of National President of the Party JP Nadda. The issues on which we have to work on the national level were communicated to us.”

“Party workers discussed what work has been done and what needs to be done. Our work needs to reach every person, community and the borders of the nation. In the upcoming parliamentary elections, we will try to win by a two-thirds majority. Uttarakhand is going to become one the best states to contribute to nation-building,” affirmed the chief minister while speaking to ANI.