Tickets for the Kedarnath helicopter service have been sold out well in advance till April 30.
All the tickets have been booked within six hours of commencement of booking through the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) by pilgrims undertaking the Chardham Yatra between April 25 and 30.
Portals of Kedarnath Dham will open on April 25 in the course of the Chardham Yatra starting from April 22. Heli service will also start on this day.
The Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) entrusted IRCTC with helicopter booking services for the first time.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Chief Executive Officer of Badri Kedar Temple Committee, Yogendra Singh said, "The IRCTC has sold out 6,263 tickets. The bookings were launched for the first time this year. The booking timings for the period after April 30 has not been decided yet".
Singh also informed, "Heli service will be operated from Guptkashi, Sirsi, Phata Helipad to Kedarnath Dham from April 25. The service will be operated through nine helicopter companies".
Initially, passengers booking online had to face problems due to technical glitches in the payment gateway on the IRCTC website.
IRCTC opened the ticket booking portal on heliyatra.irctc.co.in website on Saturday.
At the same time, passengers booking for Kedarnath by helicopter service were also eagerly waiting for online ticket booking. As soon as the portal opened, passengers were also troubled due to technical problems in the payment gateway for some time. According to C Ravi Shankar, CEO of Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority, there is a lot of enthusiasm among pilgrims about the Chardham Yatra.
BKTC president Ajendra Ajay reached Badrinath Dham on Sunday morning and took stock of various works. He directed the officials that from April 27, the portals of Lord Badrinath Dham will be opened for devotees, so various works should be expedited and devotees should not face any kind of inconvenience due to construction works.
BKTC President Ajendra directed that after the demolition of the VIP guest house, the construction of pre-fabricated huts being constructed for the brief rest of the special dignitaries visiting during the yatra period this year should be completed at the earliest.