DEHRADUN: Besides the Char Dham Yatra, devotees are evincing keen interest to visit 'Rudra Cave' this pilgrim season.
This is the cave that Prime Minister Modi visited on May 18, 2019. It is barely a kilometre away from the Kedarnath temple. The Cave is lately called 'Modi Gufa' by tourism and corporation officials.
Sudarshan Khatri, Regional Manager of Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd (GMVN) said that for booking, a night's stay cost Rs 3000. The pilgrims will be provided the services of a "helper" besides drinking water and food complementary food packet.
"The cave has a bell that can be used to call an attendant, as 24x7 staff are stationed there for guests. It also has attached toilets and heaters. Guests will also get morning tea, breakfast, lunch, evening tea, and dinner. The timings of these meals can be changed as per their choice," Khatri said.
"We are expecting many more bookings for September and October by Diwali, even if it is extremely cold," the official said.
Talking about the interest among pilgrims to visit the cave, State Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj told The New Indian Express, "I am told that the Rudra Caves has received 75 percent pre-bookings for the first time.”
Meanwhile, with less than a fortnight left for the Char Dham Yatra, 75 percent advance booking has been done by the pilgrims.
The Joint Director of Uttarakhand Tourism, Yogendra Gangwar said, "There is a lot of interest among the pilgrims to visit Baba Kedar in the Chardham Yatra. Registration figures for the yatra as of Tuesday afternoon are confirming this. Over 12.67 lakh pilgrims have registered for the pilgrimage to Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri, Gangotri, and Hemkund Sahib". Of these, more than 4.55 lakh are from Kedarnath Dham alone.