Rudraprayag: With the onset of monsoon, the pace of Char Dham Yatra has also slowed down. For the last one week, a decrease in the number of daily visitors is being recorded in Kedarnath. Due to the decrease in the number of pilgrims, business activities in the markets, halts and Kedarpuri of Kedar Valley have also been affected extensively.
This year, 6 lakh 96 thousand 934 devotees reached Kedarnath Dham in the month of May. More than 6 lakh 18 thousand devotees visited in the month of June. The Yatra is being affected due to the obstruction of Rudraprayag-Gaurikund highway and Gaurikund-Kedarnath walking route due to the onset of monsoon. During the nine days of July, only 27 thousand 280 devotees have reached Kedarnath. On Wednesday, only 1165 devotees visited the Dham, which is the lowest number.
On the other hand, the slowing down of the pace of the Yatra has also affected the business. Rakesh Negi, the canteen operator in Kedarnath, said that the business has almost come to a standstill due to the decrease in the number of pilgrims. Meanwhile, Girveer Singh Rawat, the regional manager of Garhwal Mandal Development Corporation, said that due to the decrease in pilgrims, many bookings are being cancelled every day. Yudvir Pushpavan, the chief administrative officer of BKTC, said that the number of pilgrims had started decreasing from the third week of June. These days only 1.5 to 2 thousand pilgrims are reaching the Dham every day.
A decline in the hotel business has been recorded in Badrinath Dham this year. Hotel bookings have come down by 15 to 20 percent this year as compared to last year. Hotel businessmen are considering many incidents as the reason for this.
The pilgrimage to Badrinath Dham started on May 4 this year. Till date, more than 11 lakh 40 thousand pilgrims have visited the Dham. Despite the number of devotees being sufficient, there has been a decline in the hotel business. Hotel businessmen say that this time there has been a decrease in bookings by 15 to 20 percent as compared to last year.
Badrinath Hotel Association media in-charge Ramnarayan Bhandari says that there are many reasons behind the decline in business this time compared to last year. Due to online registration and tension between India and Pakistan during the yatra, a large number of hotel bookings have been cancelled.
Hotel businessman Anshuman Bhandari says that after June 15, there has been a 50 percent decline in business in his hotel. Due to online registration and heli accidents in Kedarnath, fewer people from the upper class reached. Due to which there has been a significant decline in business.
The Char Dham Yatra has been affected due to the closure of highways at various places due to rain. On Thursday, the least number of devotees reached Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib in a day during this yatra season. Due to continuous rain, the Badrinath highway is being closed at various places. Due to this, the number of pilgrims in Badrinath has reduced considerably. On Thursday, 1794 devotees reached Badrinath. So far 11 lakh 45 thousand 510 devotees have reached the Dham. On the other hand, 534 devotees reached Hemkund Sahib on Thursday. So far, 2 lakh 9073 devotees have reached here.
