Pilgrimage season in Uttarakhand picks up pace as lakhs prepare for Char Dham Yatra, with revised rules, improved safety systems and multiple travel options shaping this year’s journey.
The portals of the Badrinath Shrine were closed for the winter season on Tuesday as per traditional rituals and the chanting of Vedic Mantras in the presence of a huge crowd of devotees
The Uttarakhand government has banned the use of mobile phones within 200-meter radius of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri temples in the state due to rising tourist footfalls at these revered sites.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the chardham pilgrimage will set a new record of pilgrims footfall this season.
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 shower coupled with the snow is billed to be a timely gift for the rabi and horticulture crops of the state.
Traffic was stalled and disrupted on the Gangotri-Yamunotri National Highway due to the falling and piling up of debris from landslides in the region
Traffic has been suspended and the Yamunotri pilgrimage halted as boulders continue to fall at many places on the Yamunotri Highway for the last three days as persistent rains continue to wreak havoc in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, officials said.
Following incessant rainfall in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, the Badrinath National Highway (NH-7) is blocked due to falling of boulders and debris from the hill, on highway near Pipalkotim, officials said on Thursday morning.
On Monday, the Meteorological Department issued an alert of rain and snowfall in the high Himalayan regions for the next 2-3 days.
