Huge crowd of devotees in Chardham!
Remember June 2013 once again. It’s been ten years. Even today thousands of people do not know what happened to them, it is only known that they were killed in the Kedarnath disaster. It is only natural to feel apprehensive about the way the crowd has gathered in Badrinath and Kedarnath this year. And this crowd is increasing everyday instead of decreasing. It is not good to be so sudden. Wait a while Uttarakhand is a hilly state, it is not possible to develop many facilities in a hurry. Even though the government has fixed the number of passengers for every day, but in spite of this the situation is worrying. It is important to know and understand that the Char Dhams of Uttarakhand are neither places of fun nor places to spend holidays. That’s why come here after thinking about every possible aspect.
No matter how many facilities the government provides, it cannot change the difficult geographical conditions here. Nor can it increase the level of oxygen in Badri-Kedar or Yamunotri-Gangotri. These are high altitude areas, there will be less oxygen here. And here there are no medical facilities like Delhi, Dehradun that the health deteriorated and a doctor was found immediately. It will take several hours to come down from the top and till then life is at risk. The roads are full of jam. Will be scared to hear the price of heli services. In such a situation, think what will happen if there is any problem. If your health is not good or you have been ill for some time, then it would be better not to come.
The amount of people gathering this year is troubling in every way. It is not that Chardham will be closed next month itself. All these temples will remain open for the next six months. That’s why the insistence of coming in June itself will create trouble and is doing so. While the most pleasant time to visit these places is in September-October after the rains stop. Either people are not aware or there is a situation of impatience among the people due to the personal interest of the Prime Minister in Kedarnath. Perhaps people feel that after the Kedarnath Development Project, this place has been converted into a beautiful hill station. Whereas, this is not the case at all. Whatever be the reason, there is no point in taking old and sick people along or traveling with the whole family. Similarly, it is not wise to travel to Chardham with very young children. People should understand that there is a religious-philosophical aspect attached to the journey to these places. That’s why the mentality of turning to Chardham after visiting Mussoorie-Dhanaulti is not acceptable from any point of view.
Some other aspects are also associated with this journey. First of all, there are not enough facilities in the hilly areas of Uttarakhand to arrange accommodation for four to five lakh people every day. When the number of people increases, the rates of hotels, dharamshalas or other places of stay can be doubled or tripled within a few hours. Same is the case with vehicle facilities. Within the last one month, the rates of vehicles have increased almost one and a half times. Don’t go by what rates the government has fixed. When the demand increases, the rates also skyrocket accordingly. Then even the government would not be in a position to do anything. Anyway, the government does not have its own infrastructure to provide such a large number of facilities. (It takes eight to ten days to travel to Char Dham. More than 50 thousand people are visiting every day. In terms of the total number of days and the number of pilgrims visiting every day, there are about five lakh people between Haridwar-Rishikesh to Char Dham in the state. exist.)
Sometimes even at the local level such people become active who see pilgrims as an object. The result of this would be that a cup of tea costing Rs.10 becomes Rs.25-30 and the price of other food items increases by two and a half to three times. And if you oppose, then there is a fear of fighting. Many examples of this have been seen in Haridwar and Rishikesh, when videos of passengers being assaulted have gone viral. It is not only about the Char Dham Yatra. Trouble is everywhere. If you are coming to Haridwar-Rishikesh or Dehradun-Mussoorie-Dhanaulti these days, especially on Saturday-Sunday, then think again. In these places, the prices of everything are skyrocketing on Saturday-Sunday. Crowds, jams, exorbitant prices and misbehavior, all these together are enough to ruin your trip.
Now the question is what is the solution to this problem? The easy solution for this is that do not make the program of Haridwar-Rishikesh or Dehradun-Mussoorie-Dhanaulti on Saturday-Sunday and shift the plan of Chardham Yatra beyond May-June to September-October. At that time the mountains are more green and beautiful. The crowd has been controlled, so the prices of facilities and goods also become stable. Even then the blessings of Baba Badri and Kedar will be only as much as they are being received in the month of June.
The government has also issued an advisory that sick and old people should not come to Char Dham. It is better to make travel arrangements well in advance through a trusted agent etc. Caution is necessary at every level because cases of online fraud are also continuously coming to the fore. Don’t just come for a picnic. Most of the areas in Haridwar, Rishikesh and Chardham are dry areas, so leave the intention of partying in cold areas at home. Since the Yatra could not be held for two years due to Corona, there has been a huge crowd for the last two years. Better wait for the crowd to subside. The purpose of all these things is not to scare you, but to make you aware so that you can enjoy the religious journey and reach back home avoiding bitter experiences.
