Chardham Yatra is set to begin on 14th May has been postponed
The Chardham Yatra to the four famous Himalayan shrines - Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and the Yamunotri - in Uttarakhand has been postponed in view of the massive surge in COVID-19 cases. The Chardham Yatra was scheduled to begin on May 14.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat on Thursday said, conducting the Chardham Yatra amid the raging pandemic is not possible. However, the doors of the four Himalayan temples will open as scheduled.
The puja and rituals will be performed only by the priests and devotees will not be allowed. The COVID-19 cases have been rising exponentially in Uttarakhand as in various other states.
The Himalayan temples of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotrari and Yamunotri are extremely popular and revered by Hindu devotees from across the world.
Earlier a senior official of the Chardham Yatra committee said the tourism industry is suffering badly due to the pandemic.
"Advance bookings of at least 500 buses for the Yatra by this time of the year was normal, but not a single bus has been booked yet raising concern among people associated with the tourism industry...," Sudhir Roy, president of the Chardham Yatra management committee that runs the pilgrimage told news agency Press Trust of India.