New Delhi: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday announced that the Chardham Yatra in the state will begin from September 18.
The announcement comes as Nainital High Court on Thursday lifted the ban on Chardham Yatra and allowed only fully COVID vaccinated people with a mandatory COVID-19 negative report for the annual pilgrimage.
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The Nainital High Court ordered devotees to follow strict COVID-19 protocols while setting a limit on the number of visitors allowed. The court said that only 800 devotees will be allowed at Kedarnath Dham, 1200 at Badrinath Dham, 600 at Gangotri, and 400 devotees at Yamunotri Dham in a day.
The High Court's ruling came on the affidavit filed by the Uttarakhand government on September 8 to allow the yatra.
The High Court had on June 28 put a stay on the yatra until further orders. It considered various factors like lack of health services in Chardham Yatra districts, lack of adequate preparations to control COVID-19 infection, shortage of doctors, and the report of the district administration to reach the decision.
Meanwhile, as per the court's order, heavy security will be deployed at the Chamoli, Rudraprayag, and Uttarkashi districts. Devotees will not be able to perform 'shahi snan' on any of the holy sites.
The Char Dham Yatra encompasses the four sacred pilgrimages of Uttarakhand - Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath. All four sites are located in the Garhwal region of the state.
Several other pilgrimages were restricted due to the COVID pandemic. Besides Chardham Yatra, the Uttarakhand government had to ban Kanwar Yatra in July this year due to concerns over the Coronavirus spread.