Uttarakhand: The government should do the basic work instead of making tall claims for travel management, the carrying capacity of the travel should be taken care of
SDC Foundation organized a round table dialogue on the Char Dham Yatra crisis solution. In this, the ongoing Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand and the chaos faced during this period were discussed. Along with this, experts discussed the flaws seen in travel management and its solutions.
Government should work on six points for travel management
Anoop Nautiyal of SDC Foundation said that the Uttarakhand government needs to work on six major points to organize the six-month Char Dham Yatra. The state government needs to move forward by integrating different aspects of strategy, management, security, environment, crowd management and economy for the Char Dham Yatra. He raised questions about the carrying capacity of the Yatra.
Dr. Latika Mohan, Professor and Head of the Department of Physiology, AIIMS Rishikesh, expressed concern over the health related issue in the Char Dham Yatra and said that it seems that despite the opinion of all the experts, the government is not able to take corrective steps. His colleague Dr. Shrikant of AIIMS Rishikesh, who has served in Badrinath and Kedarnath Dham, said that medical facilities on the Yatra route including the Char Dhams are inadequate. In case of any serious condition, the nearest health services are available only in Rishikesh AIIMS, Srinagar Medical College has become just a referral center. He emphasized on publicity and strengthening the ambulance service.
The carrying capacity of the Yatra should be taken care of
Public policy expert Dr. Pradeep Mehta said that he has prepared a policy document regarding Yatra management a long time ago and has submitted it to the government. But it has not been implemented yet. Even now there are many problems on the Yatra route and the suggestions given by him can prove helpful in improving the situation.
Major Rahul Jugran said that the main priority of the government should be the management of the Char Dham Yatra, whereas the government is considering it an achievement by focusing mainly on the record number of pilgrims. He said that every time Kedarnath is compared with Amarnath Yatra, whereas there is a wide difference between these two Yatras.
An independent and strong organization should be formed for travel management
According to geology and environment expert Dr. SP Sati, it is necessary to form an independent and strong organization for travel management. He said that the increasing crowd of travellers is also increasing the crisis on the environment. Apart from the Char Dham All Weather Road, there is an important need to strengthen the loop lines.
Carrying capacity and its compliance is necessary for the four Dhams through scientific methods. Ratan Singh Aswal, a social worker and one who works on migration, said that the people of a limited area get the benefit of the travel, but the large population of Garhwal has to bear its difficulties. He said that apart from the police, no other department seems to be making any effort in the name of travel management.
The trend of religious tourism increased in the country after 2014
Senior journalist Pawan Lalchand says that after the year 2014, there is a trend of increasing religious tourism in the country. But the state government could not prepare itself according to this trend, due to which this crisis has arisen. He said that the government is not even able to convey information regarding the travel to the travellers. Due to this, people are coming here without any information.
Journalist Rahul Kotiyal said that till ten years ago, young people did not go on religious pilgrimages. But now young people are reaching remote places like Kedarnath in large numbers. Therefore, the government will have to identify what kind of traveler should come on a religious pilgrimage.
