Uttarakhand: The carrying capacity of travel routes will also be assessed, a mobile application will be created for solution
To deal with the problem of crowd management and traffic jam in Chardham Yatra, the state government will now also assess the carrying capacity of the travel routes. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami gave these instructions in a review meeting on Monday.
Said, shuttle service should be started to reduce the traffic pressure at religious and tourist places where the crowd is increasing. A large number of devotees will gather on the Kainchi Dham Foundation Day on June 15. A large number of passengers coming to Nainital district are heading towards Kainchi Dham, so shuttle bus service should be started from Bhawali to Kainchi Dham.
Shuttle service is also being considered from Karnaprayag
The CM said, with the construction of Rishikesh-Karnprayag rail project, Karnaprayag is going to become a major hub for passengers to reach in the next two years. He directed the officials to prepare infrastructure facilities in Karnaprayag from now on. Said, shuttle service should also be considered from Karnaprayag. In the meeting, Additional Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan suggested that along with the carrying capacity of the four Dhams, the carrying capacity of the major towns and cities falling on the travel routes should also be assessed.
He said that this can help in overcoming the traffic problem on the travel routes. The Chief Minister directed to take action on this. Chief Secretary Radha Raturi, Principal Secretary RK Sudhanshu, DGP Abhinav Kumar, Secretary R Meenakshi Sundaram, Shailesh Bagoli and many other officers were present in the meeting.
Presentation of Yatra Samadhan Portal, Mobile Application
To make the Chardham Yatra smooth and better, the presentation of Yatra Samadhan Portal and Mobile Application was also done. The main objective of this portal and mobile application is to provide all the facilities to the devotees on a single platform. Through these, police stations, hospitals, parking and other facilities will be available near the four Dhams. Through this, all the parties related to the Yatra, BKTC, temple administration, hotels, tour operators, transporters will be able to connect with each other. A uniform standard operating procedure (SOP) will be made for them. CM directed ITDA and Tourism Department to work on improving this mobile application.
Offline registration to be considered as per the journey
CM said, offline registrations for the four Dhams will remain closed till May 31. Starting offline registration will be considered as per the journey. For this, he gave responsibility to Secretary Tourism Sachin Kurve and Garhwal Divisional Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey. Along with this, instructions were also given to work on the route divert plan for the convenience of the devotees.
‘Make a parking plan for the travel routes and other places’
CM said, the number of devotees will increase rapidly every year in the Yatra. It is also necessary to assess the carrying capacity of devotees and vehicles at other places on the travel route. Proposals related to parking and basic needs should be made and sent to the Housing Department at the Chardham Yatra routes and important places from the point of view of pilgrimage and tourism in the state. A special plan should be made for every year during the peak period of the Chardham Yatra.
Connectivity of Garhwal and Kumaon should be strengthened
CM directed the officers to further strengthen the connectivity of Garhwal and Kumaon. Said, home stays and other facilities should be expanded in Ranikhet and Chaukhutia area to connect both the divisions from the point of view of tourism and pilgrimage. The number of devotees is also increasing rapidly in Kainchi Dham and Purnagiri. Adequate parking arrangements should be made along with basic facilities in Kainchi Dham. A bypass should be constructed. Arrangements should be improved for the convenience of devotees in Purnagiri. The CM directed to speed up the works under the Mansakhand Mandir Mala Mission.
