Chief secy calls for review of report on Char Dham carrying capacity
DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand chief secretary Radha Raturi on Tuesday directed a thorough review of a report prepared by Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Rohtak on the carrying capacity to ensure a smooth and safe pilgrimage to Char Dham.
Raturi issued the directions during a discussion on the study report prepared by the director of IIM Rohtak and his team on the carrying capacity and improving SOPs of the Char Dham yatra and to make the journey more pleasant, smooth and safe for the devotees.
“A precise assessment of the carrying capacity of all four pilgrimage sites should be done to develop an action plan for a comfortable and secure Char Dham pilgrimage experience. The action plan should focus on robust arrangements for medical and emergency services for pilgrims, effective management and monitoring of the pilgrimage, and preserving local ecology to strengthen the local economy,” Raturi said.
Carrying capacity is the maximum population size that an ecosystem can sustainably support without degrading it.
Raturi also stressed addressing issues such as improvegovernment ment in condition of roads, traffic jams, and overcrowding on the Char Dham route.
She also issued instructions to strengthen mechanisms to gather feedback from pilgrims.
In the meeting, the discussions were also held on simplifying the pilgrim registration system through card-based and Aadhar-based Radio Frequency Identification (RFID).
Additionally, plans were discussed to implement a weather update system wherein pilgrims are informed through SMS the safety and convenience, provide medical facilities under PPP model or CSR, implement batch-wise darshan system for crowd control at pilgrimage routes, and review parking capacity.
The annual Char Dham Yatra began on May 10 this year with the opening of the three shrines — Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath. The Badrinath shrine was opened on May 12.
In the initial days of the yatra, the Uttarakhand government announced measures such as suspending offline registration for some days, not allowing the practice of VIP darshan at the Char Dham temples to manage the heavy influx of pilgrims.
With offline registration closed for some days, Uttarakhand police reported incidents of pilgrims trying to undertake the Char Dham yatra with forged online registration.
In May this year, the state had constituted a six-member high-level committee for continuous monitoring and effective management of Char Dham yatra. The committee, under the chairmanship of additional chief secretary Anand Bardhan, also includes secretary (home) as member, secretary (tourism) as member coordinator, additional director general of police (law and order), commissioner, Garhwal, inspector general of police, Garhwal, an order issued by chief secretary Radha Raturi said.
Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in January 2023 had announced the state government will conduct a carrying capacity assessment of hill towns after conducting a ground survey of Joshimath, where geological instability aggravated.
Dhami had then said that if there are more constructions than the carrying capacity of the towns, then constructions will be immediately stopped in such towns.
The 15 towns (in Garhwal and Kumaon divisions), where the assessment is being carried out are Gopeshwar, Karnaprayag, Tehri Garhwal, Uttarkashi, Pauri Garhwal, Lansdowne, Mussoorie, Nainital, Pithoragarh, Almora, Bhowali, Ranikhet, Kapkot, Dharchula, and Champawat.