Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said the humanitarian aspect must take precedence over commercial considerations in serving the pilgrims during Chardham Pilgrimage this season. He stressed that a plastic-free campaign must be carried forward during the pilgrimage as well.
Chairing a high-level meeting of senior officials in Dehradun, Dhami said all barring human considerations in facilitating the pilgrims, especially in critical services like heli operations, lodging and other facilities. “Safety and convenience of every pilgrim is our personal responsibility. Green and clean Chardham Yatra campaign will be implemented on a much larger scale this year,” he added.
To ensure a plastic-free pilgrimage, the chief minister instructed the officials to install an adequate number of collection boxes enroute chardham shrines and enforce strict restrictions on plastic usage. Dhami warned that any attempt to spread misinformation regarding the yatra must immediately lead to filing of FIR followed by strict legal action against.
Dhami asked the officials to ensure active involvement of local bodies, voluntary organisations and youths to transform the upcoming pilgrimage into a people-driven movement. He issued strict instructions for smooth heli services with mandatory adherence to SOPs. Besides, the chief minister ordered the officials to ascertain regular maintenance of flying machines, compulsory fitness checks of helicopters and adequate rest intervals for the staff to avoid operational fatigue.
He also directed them to raise attractive selfie points and theme-based installations at key locations on the pilgrimage route along with beautification and signage across the Yatra routes.
Dhami warned the officials against shortage of essential commodities such as LPG, petrol, and diesel. He stressed the need to strengthen healthcare services, setting up adequate medical units and temporary hospitals as needed.
Keeping pilgrims’ convenience at the forefront, he directed large-scale development of toilets and shelters. As for security, the Chief Minister said CCTV cameras along the pilgrimage route must be fully operational with AI-based surveillance deployed wherever necessary. Apart from this Sensitive locations must be brought under enhanced monitoring through control rooms.
Hectic preparations are underway for the upcoming Chardham pilgrimage to Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri starting from April 19 coinciding with Akshya Tritiya. State government and central agencies specially Border Road Organisation (BRO) are engaged in giving last touches to the infrastructural facilities for the pilgrims as hardly a week is left.