Tag Archives: Char Dham Yatra

This is the image of all the 4 Temples/Dham of the Char Dham Yatra

Online registration for Char Dham Yatra begins today

The online registration for the Char Dham Yatra will begin today, the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) has said

The pilgrimage for the four Dhams, including the Hemkund Sahib, will commence on May 10.

“The mandatory online registration will start from April 15 after the announcement of the auspicious time for the opening of the portals of the Yamunotri Dham by the temple priests on April 14. The offline registration will start at 8-10 centres from Rishikesh and subsequently Haridwar,” UTDB joint director Yogendra Gangwar said.

Pilgrims can register through the website, app, toll-free number and WhatsApp. “Currently, no provision has been made to limit the number at any Dham and any such provision will be considered later after assessing the registrations,” he said.

People can register online from the tourism website and the official WhatsApp numbers and through toll free numbers which will be released prior to the start of registration.

“During registration, pilgrims should enter their correct mobile number, carry warm clothes and umbrella, etc., and collect their ‘darshan’ tokens from the Dham itself. Passengers with medical history should carry their medicines and if any pilgrim feels unwell, they should avoid the journey after consultation from the medical staff deployed on the Yatra route,” Gangwar said.

Arrangements for helicopter services have also been made by the government and passengers booking through heliyatra.irctc.co.in should avoid booking helicopter tickets from unauthorised persons offering darshan for the Char Dham Yatra route, officials said.

“The online registration for Hemkunt Sahib Yatra will also begin from April 15, and the portal of the shrine will open on May 25. Apart from the helicopter service from Govind Ghat to Ghangria, this year pilgrims will also be provided added helicopter service from Gauchar to Ghangria and Badrinath shrine,” NS Bindra, president Hemkunt Sahib Gurudwara Management Trust, said.

The portals of Gangotri shrine will open at 12.25pm on May 10, while the exact time for opening the portals of Yamunotri Dham shrine, which will also open on May 10

The portal of Kedarnath shrine will open on May 10 and the Bhairavnath prayers will be held on May 5 at the Omkareshwar temple in Ukhimath. The Panchmukhi palanquin of the deity will leave Omkareshwar temple at Ukhimath on May 6 and reach the Kedarnath shrine on May 9 in the evening.

“The portal for the Badrinath shrine will open on May 12 at 6am and the Tel Kalash yatra ceremony will begin on April 25,” Harish Gaur, media-in charge of the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee, said.

Char Dham shrines remain shut for around six months every year, opening in summer (April or May) and closing with the onset of winter (October or November). The portals of Badrinath Dham will be opened at 6 am on May 12 this year.

The yatra set an all-time record last year, with more than 5.6 million people participating in the annual pilgrimage. In 2022, over 4.6 million pilgrims had visited the four revered Himalayan shrines. (Source: HT)

 

DGCA issues guidelines for helicopter operations for Char Dham yatra

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has introduced an additional hill check for pilots operating to helipads at 10,000 ft during the Char Dham yatra from this season onwards. This comes as at least six pilgrims and a pilot were killed in a chopper crash near Kedarnath Shrine in Uttarakhand on October 2022.

A senior official informed that under the safety measures, pilots operating in the Himalayan region will get specialised training under the new set of rules introduced by DGCA.

After the last year’s chopper crash that claimed seven lives and another incident that happened this year where an official of the Uttarakhand government was killed after coming in contact with a tail rotor, DGCA issued safety guidelines to all operators in the hill region.

 

Uttarakhand to start registration for Char Dham Yatra from Feb 20

Online and offline registration for the Char Dham Yatra will begin on February 20 and the pilgrimage process is expected to be smoother than in previous years, an Uttarakhand government official said, reports Ajay Ramola for HT.

Pilgrims can also register on the mobile app of the state tourism department and officials have been directed to complete preparations for the yatra by March 31 and share information with other states so that they can keep devotees in their respective areas informed, Garhwal commissioner Sushil Kumar said.

“A record 46 lakh pilgrims reached Char Dham shrines last year and more pilgrims are expected to reach this year so all the district magistrates on the yatra route have been directed to fix the carrying capacity in each shrine and make arrangements to provide accommodation in the adjoining areas, strengthen the yatra routes, deploy JCBs in sensitive landslide zones and maintain adequate cleanliness, health care arrangements, and waste management facilities during the yatra season.” Kumar said.

Yogendra Singh, CEO, Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee, said, “The temple committee has a very narrow timeline in which it has to streamline the darshan for Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines and if the number of devotees reaching the shrines is around 12,000, then it means that the time window for each devotee is only 3 to 5 seconds for darshan.”

He said the committee is developing an application to streamline the darshan process by introducing a token system for general darshans while online registration will be done for special prayers (rudrabhishek).

Women-led self-help groups will be engaged to prepare prasad (holy food) for devotees so that they can benefit from the high footfall at the shrines, Singh said.

District magistrates have been directed to ensure early registration of horses and mules operating in the shrine areas while the transport department has been asked to fix the number of buses going on the Char Dham Yatra route by March 15 along with providing updates on the fitness of vehicles on a daily basis.

Char Dham assistance centres at transit camps will be activated a week prior to the start of the yatra and accommodation and other facilities at Pipilotti, Helang, Pandukehwar and Govind Ghat en route Badrinath in Chamoli district will be increased, said Kumar.

The local business community is opposed to capping of the number of pilgrims to all four major shrines and mandatory online registration.

The daily pilgrim cap set by the state government in May last year for Char Dham shrines was 15,000 pilgrims for Badrinath, 12,000 for Kedarnath, 7,000 for Gangotri and 4,000 for Yamunotri but after opposition limit was increased by 1,000 for the first 45 days of the yatra season.

The Border Road Organisation, the Public Works Department, and the National Highways Authority of India have been directed to stop blasting work before March 31 and install signboards with electronic displays in danger zones.

The Char Dham yatra starts with the opening of the portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri Dham shrines amid Vedic chants on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya (April 22 this year) in Uttarkashi district. Portals of Badrinath Dham shrine will be opened at 7.10am on April 27 this year. The date for the opening of the portals of Kedarnath Dham shrine will be decided on February 18. (Source: HT)

 

Registeration mandatory for Char Dham Yatra

The Uttarakhand government has advised all those willing to come to for Char dham yatra to ensure that they have compulsorily done their registration before proceeding for the yatra.

Uttarakhand Tourism Secretary Dilip Jawalkar said limit on presence of number of pilgrims at each of the Char dhams has been fixed keeping in mind safety of the pilgrims and thus every pilgrim should commence for the yatra only after getting the registration done to avoid inconvenience at latter stage.

The Tourism Secretary has also asked the pilgrims to thoroughly go through the health advisory and follow it in totality. The Tourism Department has also categorically held that those arriving for char dham yatra without registeration will not be allowed to carry out the yatra and will be stopped at Rishikesh, the starting point of the yatra. The pilgrims have been further asked to come for the yatra as per the dates provided by them during the registration.

The pilgrims have also been asked to go for hotel and other bookings only after their registration is confirmed. The registration is being done on registrationandtouristcare.uk.gov.in

The pilgrims have also been asked to get complete health check up done before proceeding for the yatra as tough terrain and weather conditions could pose a challenge for them.

As the char dhams are situated at a height of 2,700 meters above sea level, the pilgrims encounter low oxygen levels, excess ultra violet radiation and extreme cold conditions which adversely affect one’s health and thus health check up is advisable. The health advisory is available in Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board’s (UTDB) social media accounts.

IRCTC launches pocket-friendly Char Dham Yatra tour package

As the Badrinath and Kedarnath sacred pilgrimages are set to open on May 8 and May 6 respectively, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has launched a budget-friendly tour package by air.

The IRCTC’s Char Dham Yatra tour will start from Bhubaneshwar airport on June 10, 2022, while the trip will end on June 21, 2022.

The cost of the IRCTC’s pilgrim air tour package will start from INR 60,000. The IRCTC said that pony charges, helicopter charges, and palki charges are not included in the tour price.

IRCTC Char Dham yatra package includes:

Return Airfare (Bhubaneswar – Delhi – Bhubaneswar)
Accommodation in Deluxe hotels/Resorts for 11 nights.
Local Transfer from Delhi Airport & Sightseeing by AC 2 x 2 Comfortable Pushback Tempo Travellers.
Breakfast & Dinner as per the Itinerary.
IRCTC Tour Manager for the entire tour.
Parking Charges, Driver Batta, Toll Tax
IRCTC package excludes:

Pony Charges, Helicopter Charges & Palki Charges
Personal Expenses such as Laundry, telephone calls, tips & gratuity, mineral water, soft & hard drinks, rafting, rock climbing, paragliding, Porterage, Still / Video Camera fees etc
Entry tickets at monuments, zoos, sightseeing places, National Park, and boat rides.

Any cost arising due to natural calamities like landslides, road blockage, political disturbances (strikes), etc (to be borne by the client, which is directly payable on the spot).

To get other information or with any problems, you can visit the official website of IRCTC at irctctourism.com. One can also do the booking by visiting the regional office. While making the booking, you will have to fill in all the details along with making the payment.