Uttarakhand Promises A Safe Chardham & Hemkund Yatra 2014

TRAVEL/TOURISM

Uttarakhand Promises A Safe 

Chardham & Hemkund Yatra 2014

Mumbai : The Chardham Yatra and Hemkund Sahib Yatra in Uttarakhand  is all set to start in May and the Government of Uttarakhand has taken various measures to ensure a  safe and enjoyable journey for all the pilgrims coming to the state. 

Last month, the state government had issued a few directives making government departments responsible for safe and  enjoyable journey of visitors.

Uttarakhand is globally recognized for its spiritually elevating destinations and beauty. Everyone who comes here become a part of the wildlife, nature’s sceneries or places of religious worship. 

The state  has become most popular destination for tourists seeking peace and tran quillity besides involving themselves in leisure and sporting activities.

The growth of tourism sector in the state has been one of the fastest in the country. “We have  initiated major tourist friendly packages that offer the diversity and ethereal beauty on a platter best  suitable to them,” said Dr. Umakant Panwar, Secretary, Government of Uttarakhand. 

He emphasized  that the state government is committed to put in place all the safety measures for ensuring a safe,  secure and comfortable journey for visitors coming for Chardham and Hemkund Sahib Yatras.

The consistent efforts to develop the state as tourist destination have resulted into its recognition worldwide, which is evident from the ever increasing flow of international as well as domestic  visitors in the last few years, added Dr Panwar.  The Holy Yatra will begin on May 2, 2014 with the opening of Yamnotri and Gangotri gates. This will  be followed by the opening of gates of Kedarnath on May 4, Badrinath on May 5, and Hemkund  Sahib on May 25, 2014.

To facilitate the pilgrims and tourists, a special control room has been set up at the Uttarakhand Tourism headquarter in Dehradun. A Nodal Officer will manage the centre. Telephone number of  the tourist helpline is : 1364 . Email Id is yatra4dham@yahoo.in. This service shall be available from 7  am to 9 pm every day.

Preparedness

The State Government has created more than five Base Camps, 48 Wayside Amenities,

Seven Ghats, Twelve Night Shelters for the Chardham Yatra.

All district magistrates in Garhwal besides the departments of health sanitation, water,electricity among others have been assigned responsibilities for maintaining efficient and smooth Chardham Yatra operations.  

Instructions have been issued to ensure that work on roads and infrastructure will be  completed by April 30, 2014. A special task force comprising of police and Nehru Institute of Mountaineering at Uttarkashi, has been set up for the Kedarnath route from Bhimbali. This  shall function under the district magistrate of Rudraprayag.

The state government official informed that mobile towers and PCO booths had been  erected every 15kms of the route and mobile hospitals and medical camps were established  for the benefit of the pilgrims.

All wireless networks have been made operational and also a new police post at Kedar Valley shall become operational in April 2014.

Additionally, the services of private helicopter operators will be engaged to take passengers  to Kedarnath.

As part of the safety and keeping track all pilgrims visiting Chardham Yatra, the state government is  introducing biometrics registration mandatory. “We want to ensure safety of pilgrims by making biometrics registration for all pilgrims visiting Chardham Yatra. Biometric registration counters will  be setup at entry points of state and also in yatra routes,” said Dr. Panwar.

He added, “The state government’s main emphasis is to create parking, ghats and other  infrastructure to facilitate tourists at various tourist places. New ropeway projects are coming up  with Public Private Partnership (PPP) at Rambara- Kedarnath, Rishikesh- Neelkanth, Dehradun-  Musoorie, and Surkandadevi among others. The works of Jankichatti-Yamunotri and ThuligadPurnagiri ropeways have already been awarded.”

He further added that “the vision of state govt. is to develop Uttarakhand as a world class tourist destination at par with some of the great destinations of the world.”

Winter Chardham

After the devastation in the region last year, the state government has decided to empower  the locals financially. For this, they have come up with a unique concept and can be a big hit  in terms of encouraging the guest flow and benefit the locals in the region. During winter,  for six months, the deities from all four dhams – Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and  Badrinath shifted and worshiped respectively to shrines of Kharsali, Mukhva, Ukhimath and  Pandukeshwar (Joshimath),. And all are aware, that beauty of Himalayas during winters is  unmatched.

The key motive for the proposal is to attract more devotees and to open up the opportunity  365 Days in this sector. The tourism in the sector will eventually provide more employment  nto the locals of the respective regions. The pilgrims can also enjoy winter sports activities,  exciting views of Snow Clad peaks, local cultural programmes such as fairs, festivals, Kaurav  puja and Pandav dance among others which would certainly help in introducing the local  culture more closely.

 Valley of flower trek (July till Mid Sept)

Auli skiing packages (Dec- March)

About Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand has 6 National Parks, 6 Wild Life Reserves and 1 Biosphere Reserve, and  countless peaks, rivers, waterfalls, rapids, glaciers, etc. It has highest religious shrines and  Dhaams, over 100 Popular Trekking routes and circuits, 83 Scalable Peaks, Ski Slopes and  Alpine Meadows, Lakes and Reservoirs. And to top it all, it has a peace loving community  with best law and order records. Apart from this, the state offers a multitude of trekking  possibilities. From mountaineering to trekking on high altitudes or visiting ancient  pilgrimage routes, Uttarakhand has something for every kind of tourist. Some of the popular  trekking destinations are Kailash-Mansarovar, Adi-Kailash, Pindari, Panchachuli, Nanda Devi  etc. As the birthplace of Yoga, it attracts more visitors from around the world, who come  here seeking a deeper meaning of life. Numerous ashrams are located in Rishikesh and  Haridwar where Yoga and Meditation are practised and taught. Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board organizes an International Yoga Week every year from March 1 to 7 in  Rishikesh.