Record 13 lakh bookings for Chardham Pilgrimage in eight days
The State Tourism Department called it a sign of record breaking flow of pilgrims to the four shrines as the pilgrimage season is scheduled to start on May 10.
The security of Badrinath and Kedarnath shrine areas will now be the responsibility of Indo Tibet Border Police (ITBP) till the portals of the temples remain closed for the winter. The Badri Kedar Temple Committee (BKTC) has confirmed the decision.
The ITBP platoons were deployed at Badrinath and Kedarnath shrines on Sunday as the Centre agreed to the Pushkar Singh Dhami government’s demand that better security arrangents were needed in the area during winters.
Officials in the state Home Department and BKTC informed that security in Badrinath and Kedarnath had become a concern for six months when the temples’ portals remain closed and pilgrimage is shifted to alternate seat of the deities.
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“The decision to deploy ITBP jawans at Badrinath and Kedarnath temple areas was taken last year by the Central government. It was done on the demand of the state government. Besides this, public movements were zero when the temple portals remained closed but the construction works continued even during this period” informed BLTC chairman Ajeyendra Ajay.
Ajay futher stated that the deployment of ITBP was not a temporary arrangement but permanent. “Now ITBP will take care of temples’ security forever during winter while state police will look after it when pilgrimage season is on mainly in summer and monsoons” said the BKTC head.
In 2022, the BKTC requested Dhami Government to aprove its proposal for goldplating sanctum santorum walls of Kedarnath temple as desired by a devotee businessman from Mumbai. This was aproved by the state government but opposed by a section of local priests.
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