Char Dham Yatra: Uttarakhand Govt Issues New Covid Guidelines After HC Lifts Daily Limit On Pilgrims

The SOPs, which have been issued to curb the spread of Covid-19, comes a day after the Uttarakhand High Court lifted the daily limit on the number of pilgrims for the Char Dham yatra.

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Dehradun: Issuing the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the Char Dham yatra, the Uttarakhand government on Wednesday said that registration and e-pass will be mandatory for ‘darshan’ in the four dhams - the temples of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri.

Besides, it is necessary for the devotees to have either both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine or negative Covid report not older than 72 hours if they wish to visit the Char Dham.

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The SOPs, which have been issued to curb the spread of Covid-19, comes a day after the Uttarakhand High Court lifted the daily limit on the number of pilgrims for the Char Dham yatra.

The decision came days after the state government moved the High Court seeking removal of the daily limit imposed on the number of pilgrims visiting Char Dham.

The state government had said that the daily limit on the pilgrims is affecting the earnings of the people.

The High Court, however, made it clear on Tuesday that every pilgrim will have to bring a negative Covid-19 test report and a vaccination certificate.

The Uttarakhand High Court had earlier last month in view of the Covid outbreak fixed the maximum number of devotees visiting the temples daily at 1,000 for Badrinath, 800 for Kedarnath, 600 for Gangotri and 400 for Yamunotri respectively.

The High Court had earlier also banned bathing in any reservoir or spring located around the shrines.