DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government on Thursday decided to suspend the Char Dham Yatra this year due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the portals of the four revered shrines -- Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri -- will open at the decided time.
Tirath Singh Rawat, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, said, "Given the pandemic situation, the Char Dham Yatra for pilgrims has been suspended for this year. The portals of all the four shrines will open at the decided time. Only the priests will conduct all rituals which will continue as per tradition."
The date for opening the portals of Badrinath shrine is May 18 which was announced on the occasion of Basant Panchami. The portals of Kedarnath shrine will open on May 17.
The portals of Yamunotri shrine will be opened on May 14 at 12.15 pm, while the portals of Gangotri shrine will be opened on May 15 on the occasion of Akshay Tritya at around 7.30 am.
Last year, the Yatra started for pilgrims of Uttarakhand on July 1 while for pilgrims from outside the state, it was opened in the last week of July.
The number of daily pilgrims was fixed at 800 for the Kedarnath shrine, 1200 for Badrinath, 600 for Gangotri and 400 for Yamunotri last year.
Earlier this month, the Uttarakhand High Court commenting on the Char Dham Yatra had remarked that the Yatra cannot be allowed to become another Kumbh.
The court had directed the state government to formulate guidelines for the yatra.
In comparison to 2019 when more than 38 lakh pilgrims visited the Char Dham of Uttarakhand, the numbers came down to 4.2 lakh in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision comes after sharp criticism of Haridwar Mahakumbh 2021 where millions visited making the mega religious event a super spreader.
The number of active cases registered over 2400% increase in 15 days from March 31 to April 28 while the Mahakumbh went on.
Prior to the mega religious event, the total number of active cases in the hill state stood at 1863 on March 31. After the event started officially on April 1, the number of active cases reached a whopping 45383 on April 28.
The number of active cases reached 10770 on April 14 as the Kumbh touched its peak with a number of ritualistic Shahi Snan (Royal Baths) in river Ganges.
According to the state government's official data, more than 35 lakh people gathered in the Mahakumbh in Haridwar on April 12 and over 13.51 lakh on April 14, both days considered auspicious.