Chardham yatra to begin on limited scale from June 8

Uttarakhand: The Chardham yatra will begin for devotees on a limited scale from June 8, the Uttarakhand government said on Tuesday.

“We are preparing to start the yatra from June 8,” Cabinet Minister and state government’s official spokesman Madan Kaushik said.

The yatra will begin for devotees on a limited scale initially and after talking to governments of other states, it will be opened for pilgrims from other states as well, he said.

The four famous Himalayan shrines in Uttarakhand, including Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri, were opened about one and a half months back but devotees have not been allowed to visit the temples yet because of the coronavirus pandemic.

It is for the first time in the history of these temples that devotees have been deprived of an opportunity to visit them due to a pandemic.

The portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri were opened on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya on April 24, those of Kedarnath on April 29 and Badrinath on May 15 in the presence of only priests and devasthanam board officials during the countrywide lockdown.

“We will consider the option of running buses for pilgrims in consultation with other state governments. That way alone pilgrims and tourists from other states can come to Uttarakhand,” Kaushik said.