DHRADUN: While there were speculations that
Char Dham
yatra will witness a dip in tourist numbers following the opening of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, the advance booking exceeded the 15 lakh mark in a fortnight, officials said.
This year, the Char Dham yatra will commence with the opening of portals of
Kedarnath
,
Gangotri
and
Yamunotri
on May 10 and Badrinath on May 12.
Registration process
started on April 15 and in a span of 14 days, it witnessed a steep rise, officials added. Taking into account the high number of bookings, authorities have limited the number of registration to 9,000 at Yamunotri, 11,000 at Gangotri, 18,000 at Kedarnath and 20,000 at Badrinath.
Chairperson of Badri Kedar Temple Committee Ajendra Ajay said, “We’re making all required arrangements. Pickets would be set up to check that only people with booking are allowed to move ahead.”
Unlike previous years, Kedarnath took over Badrinath Dham as per the number of pilgrims visiting there in 2023. Kedarnath had a pilgrim footfall of 19.6 lakh, followed by 18.3 lakh at Badrinath, 9 lakh at Gangotri and 7.3 lakh at Yamunotri, taking the total number to 54.2 lakh.
During the pilgrimage season in 2022, a devotee turnout of 44.2 lakh was witnessed. There were 17.6 lakh visitors to Badrinath while Kedarnath registered 15.6 lakh pilgrims. Yamunotri and Gangotri shrines had 4.8 lakh and 6.2 lakh pilgrims respectively.
