New Delhi: The Uttarakhand government has reduced the time at which the offline registration for Char Dharm Yatra can be done prior to commencing it from 1 month to 1 week. The State Tourism Secretary said that the registration is being done at 20 places on the travel routes.
The announcement comes days after the state government made advance online registration mandatory for all pilgrims. According to a report by news agency ANI, the Uttarakhand government on Tuesday urged the pilgrims to start their journey only after checking the registration slots available in the portal of the Uttarakhand Tourism Department.
As per the advisory issued by the state government, no pilgrims will be allowed without registration after Rishikesh which is the starting point of the yatra.
The tourism department has also set a certain limit for the registration of pilgrims in the state.
"The limit of registration has been fixed according to the carrying capacity of various Dhams, in order to make the journey of the pilgrims coming to Chardham pleasant and safe, pilgrims should travel only after checking the availability of registration," said the Tourism Department.
The mandatory registration was also announced by Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami.
On Dhami’s instructions, the state health department also started screening pilgrims for various health issues.
The Char Dham Yatra began on May 3, after a gap of two years due to the pandemic.
Unlike the last year, the government has not mandated covid-19 negative test reports and vaccination certificates this year.
The yatra began with the opening of Gangotri and Yamunotri portals for devotees on May 3, on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya in the presence of CM Dhami, while Kedarnath re-opened on May 6, and the doors of Badrinath opened on May 8.