Unprecedented rush of pilgrim invitation to disaster: Experts

MUSSOORIE: The unprecedented rush of pilgrims to Char Dham yatra that began on May 3 has led to chaotic conditions and is being considered an open invitation to disaster by experts.

Over 10.2 lakh pilgrims have visited Char Dham shrines so far including 3.4 lakh to Badrinath, 3.35 lakh to Kedarnath, 2 lakh to Gangotri and 1.49 lakh to Yamunotri.

“The government insistence on following centralised mass tourism model with the lone focus on revenue generation and that too without conducting the carrying capacity study in each valley on the Char Dham route is the recipe for disaster as it is putting additional pressure on the available resources and harming the ecology beyond repair,” said Hemant Dhyani, a member of the Supreme Court-appointed expert body that studied the impacts of hydropower projects on environmental degradation post-2013 Kedarnath tragedy.

“The administration has introduced capping of pilgrims to the four major shrines but the recent rains for continuous two days resulted in the pilgrims gathering at Sonprayag, Gaurikund and the crowding of the routes, causing inconvenience and risk to the pilgrims who had to wait for two days,” said Dhyani, coordinator of Ganga Aahwahan Forum.

Dhyani said overburdening of the sensitive Himalayan region due to centralised mass tourism is very disastrous and it is not a form of sustainable tourism at all. “Before inviting pilgrims for yatra a carrying capacity study should be conducted right from Rishikesh”, he said

The overcrowding also means more garbage that is being littered across the mountain slopes and is ending up in the rivers in the Himalayan region resulting in endangering the fragile Himalayan ecology.

Anoop Nautiyal, founder of Dehradun-based SDC Foundation, who has been fighting against pollution and environmental degradation in Uttarakhand said while tourism and pilgrimage is welcome in Uttarakhand, there is a dire need to be conscious of sustainable waste management practices and effective crowd management, keeping in mind weather and carrying capacity of Char Dham areas.

“With a huge influx of pilgrims and tourists, waste segregation/generation, disposal of water bottles, sachets, sanitary pads, empty glass bottles and collection, transportation, processing are key concerns. If 50 lakh pilgrims come for 2022 Char Dham Yatra, spend on average 10 days and only 50% buy 3 water bottles/day, 7.5 crore plastic bottles would get sold in 6 months”.

The limited accommodation at Char Dham shrines for night stay is also a major concern.

KN Goswami, nodal officer of yatra at Kedarnath, said: “Currently, the carrying capacity of Kedarnath is around 10,000 pilgrims who can be accommodated for each night during yatra season including the arrangements in the tents.”

However, the accommodations at Yamunotri and Hemkund sahib shrine is of few hundred forcing the pilgrims to return the same day and this urgency leads to many taking to services of mule and horses operating in Char Dham from Jan ki Chatti to Yamunotri and again back, which has also led to many people getting injured, said Shiv Singh Thalwal, a social activist from Uttarkashi.

“The carrying capacity of Jan ki Chatti and Gangotri is around 5000 and during the unprecedented rush most of the pilgrims are in hurry to rush back to Harsil, Gangnani and Uttarkashi for overnight stay forcing them to overspeed thus leading to accidents,” said Thalwal.

SMA Kazmi, a political analyst, said on an average 10,000 to 15,000 pilgrims are reaching the four major shrines every day.

“But do we have the civil and medical infrastructure to cater to such a vast number of pilgrims is the big question and the only solution to the problem is adopting a limited tourism policy,” said Kazmi.

The number of pilgrim deaths due to cardiac arrest and other ailments has crossed the sixty mark and the rise in the number of pilgrims has also put the health system in the state on edge.

BK Shukla Chief Medical Officer Rudraprayag said, “1619 devotees were subjected to health check-up and treatment including 1187 men and 432 women on Thursday and so far 38,706 devotees have been tested and treated.

Four pilgrims lost their lives on Thursday.