In Unlock 1, Uttarakhand to resume Char Dham yatra and tourism activities

The Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand comprises four pilgrimage sites -Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath.

The Uttarakhand government is planning to resume tourism and start the Char Dham Yatra in a limited manner after June 8 in an effort to boost the economy, Cabinet minister and government spokesperson Madan Kaushik said on Sunday.

In its latest guidelines on Saturday, the Centre allowed religious places to open after June 8 along with free inter-state travel of people in a bid to gradually open up the country after lockdown amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We will implement the Centre’s guidelines after analysis. The Centre under its new guidelines has allowed the religious places to open after June 8, which is a commendable step as it will enable us to open our major religious places including the highly revered Char Dham, which attract many devotees across the country,” Kaushik said.

“The government is planning to start the Char Dham Yatra but in a limited manner, allowing only limited people amid the pandemic. We will also gradually resume the tourism activities in the same manner as both Char Dham Yatra and tourism are basically the backbone of our economy.”

The Char Dham Yatra is a religious tour circuit that draws a large number of pilgrims.

The Cabinet minister said that the government had earlier suggested the Centre to allow the resumption of both aforementioned activities in the state as they are vital to boost the economy of the state which had been severely affected by the pandemic.

He said, “We suggested the same before the latest guidelines were issued. And now when they have provided some more relaxations, we are hopeful to soon resume them after proper evaluation.”