16.56 lakh devotees visit Kedarnath; Chardham Yatra regains pace

Dehradun, Oct 9 (PTI) The number of pilgrims visiting the Kedarnath Dham surpassed its previous records as 16.56 lakh devotees paid their obeisance at the temple during the ongoing Chardham Yatra, according to official data.

The Chardham Yatra, which was repeatedly disrupted due to disasters during the monsoon season in Uttarakhand, has now resumed pace despite snowfall and persistent bad weather.

Official data showed a record was set on Wednesday for the Kedarnath Yatra, with the number of pilgrims visiting this year exceeding 16.56 lakh, over 4,000 pilgrims more than last year, with 14 days remaining before the temple's doors close.

According to the data, approximately 19,731 pilgrims visited the Chardham (Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri) and Hemkund Sahib in a single day till 7 pm on Wednesday.

Officials said the number of pilgrims who visited the Badrinath temple was 5,042, Kedarnath temple 5,614, Gangotri shrine 6,217 and Yamunotri shrine 2,360 pilgrims, while 498 pilgrims reached Hemkund Sahib.

The Chardham Yatra had been on a downward trend since the Dharali disaster on August 5th due to heavy rain and natural disasters. Several other disasters, including those in Dharali, Sayanachatti and Tharali in Uttarakhand within 20 days, nearly derailed the pilgrimage.

The yatra was also suspended for four days in the first week of September due to a bad weather warning. However, the pilgrimage began to pick up, albeit slowly, after September 5, with approximately 8,000 pilgrims visiting the shrines on a single day on September 10.

By August 4, a day before the Dharali disaster, 41.61 lakh pilgrims had performed the Chardham Yatra. Now, with the pilgrimage picking up pace again, the total number of pilgrims visiting the Chardham and Hemkund Sahib this season has risen to 47.39 lakh.

Experts say this figure could rise to 50 lakh in the coming days, as there is still a lot of time left for the Chardham Yatra to conclude.

The doors of Kedarnath and Yamunotri will close on October 23, while those of Gangotri Dham will close on October 22, the day after Diwali, and those of Badrinath Dham will close on November 25, thus concluding this year's Chardham Yatra. PTI DPT APL ZMN