Char Dham priests threaten agitation if restrictions on yatra not lifted

Char Dham priests on Wednesday threatened to launch an agitation if those coming for the annual pilgrimage were not exempted from mandatory regulations like online registration and proposed daily limit on the number of pilgrims visiting the Himalayan templesA majority of the pilgrims are poor elderly and illiterate Registering for the yatra online is not easy for them It is unpractical to impose the formality on the yatris prior to the pilgrimage Teerth Purohit Mahapanchayat president Suresh Semwal told PTICiting the example of last year he said many pilgrims who came for the yatra from rural areas of Uttar Pradesh had to return from Rishikesh and Haridwar as they had not registered in advance for itAs far as keeping a record of the yatris going on the pilgrimage is concerned it can also be done through police verification he saidSemwal also raised objections to the order in which the registration process was being followed saying it tampered with the Hindu traditionsAlso readBombay HC says new born means fullterm amp preterm baby directs insurance firm to pay medical expenses to mother of twinsAccording to our scriptures Yamunotri is to be visited first by pilgrims followed by Gangotri Kedarnath and Badrinath But this order has been changed The registration for Kedarnath and Badrinath has started while the registration for Yamunotri and Gangotri which are scheduled to open before them are yet to begin he saidYamunotri and Badrinath open for devotees after the winter break on April 22 while Kedarnath and Badrinath open on April 25 and April 27 respectivelySemwal also opposed the tourism departments proposal to impose a daily limit on the pilgrims visiting the Himalayan templesCalling it totally illogical he said the tourism department has proposed a daily limit of 6000 for Yamunotri and 18000 for Badrinath the road to which goes through land subsidencehit JoshimathWe have put forward our demands before Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami He has assured us to resolve them but if he does not we will have to agitate Semwal saidThough a proposal for the imposition of a daily cap on pilgrims is under consideration especially in view of the land subsidence crisis in Joshimath a decision on this is yet to be madeThese regulations only complicate the pilgrimage for the yatris rather than making it smooth Semwal who had led a delegation of teerthpurohits to Dhami recently in protest against the regulations said if our demands are not conceded we will have no option but to resort to an agitation with the support of all stakeholders including tour and travel operators the TeerthPurohit Mahapanchayat president saidHe also said the Centres much hyped allweather road was of no use if a daily limit was imposed on the number of pilgrims visiting the templesOn one hand the Centre claims that 12000 vehicles can ply daily on the Char Dham allweather roads and on the other handit prepares to limit the number of pilgrims visiting the temples Isnt it selfcontradictory Semwal askedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever