CHAR DHAM YATRA TO RESUME FOR STATE RESIDENTS BEGINNING JULY 1

DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government on Sunday announced a phased resumption of the Char Dham pilgrimage for residents of the state beginning July 1, as the state continues to see a decline in daily new Covid-19 cases.

“In the new guidelines, the government has also decided to allow Char Dham yatra for the locals. Under this, the locals of Rudraprayag district, which hosts the Kedarnath shrine, will be allowed to visit the shrine. Similarly, locals of Chamoli district will be allowed to visit Badrinath shrine and those of Uttarkashi district will be allowed to visit Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines from July 1,” said cabinet minister and government spokesperson Subodh Uniyal.

He said that residents of other districts of the state will be allowed to visit the four temples – which make up the yatra 00 from July 11.

“All have to carry either a negative RT-PCR test report or a negative Rapid Antigen Test report,” Uniyal added.

On April 29, amid a spike in Covid-19 cases, the state government had postponed the yatra, which was scheduled to start on May 14. Earlier this month, it said it will allow residents of the three districts to take the pilgrimage but deferred the decision as the issue had been raised before the high court. Last week, the Uttarakhand high court directed the state to file a report on the phased reopening by June 21.