With over 19 lakhs devotees undertaking the Char Dham Yatra since the pilgrimage began on May 3 this year, the Himalayan ecology appears to be dealing with the impact of excessive human visitation to the region.
The Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee on Sunday informed on Sunday that till the evening of June 11, the total number of pilgrims who reached Uttarakhand char dham is 19,04,253 (nineteen lakh four thousand two hundred fifty-three).
Following the pandemic rules relaxing and the sudden surge in the number of pilgrims visiting the delicate Himalayan terrain aggravated irresponsible waste disposal in the Himalayas, leaving behind litter filled mountainsides and mounds of plastic waste. According to Hindustan Times report, environmentalists are worried that this will cause irrevocable damage to an already fragile ecology, and increase pollutants in the river systems.
Notably, on May 30, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a Mann Ki Baat radio programme, called for pilgrims to keep the Char Dham shrine areas clean. In the aftermath of this plea, a special cleanliness drive was launched on May 31, during which over 7000 kg of waste has been recovered.
Anoop Nautiyal, founder of the Dehradun based SDC (Social Development for Communities) Foundation sounded a bugle of caution. “If 5 million pilgrims come for 2022 Char Dham Yatra and spend 10 days on an average, they will produce at least 75 million plastic water bottles, even if only half buy three bottles a day. This gives us a rough idea about the quantum of waste that is being generated in the state during Char Dham. It is crucial we set up a mechanism for the proper collection, disposal and processing of waste,” he said according to Hindustan Times report.
It is important to note that from May 8 to June 11 evening, 6,57,547 pilgrims reached Badrinath Dham while 6,33,548 pilgrims have reached the Kedarnath Dham from May 6 to June 11 evening.
Meanwhile, a total of 91 pilgrims have lost their lives during the course of the Char Dam Yatra in Uttarakhand till May 27. The Uttarakhand government, on May 11, announced its decision to increase the number of pilgrims by 1,000 each to Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath.
“The government has decided to increase the number of pilgrims at Chardham by one thousand,” Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had told ANI.
With this, 16,000 devotees can visit Badrinath and 13,000 can have ‘darshan’ of the deity at Kedarnath Dham in a day. Now, as many as 8,000 and 5,000 pilgrims can visit Gangotri and Yamunotri Dham, in a day, respectively.
The doors of the Gangotri-Yamunotri Dham were opened on May 3, whereas the portals of Kedarnath and Badrinath were opened on May 6 and May 8, respectively. This year, the registrations for Yatra have also observed a new record as more than 10 lakh pilgrims have registered.
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