The Uttarakhand High Court on Thursday vacated its stay on the Chardham Yatra and directed the state government to conduct the pilgrimage with strict adherence to COVID-19 norms. Lifting the ban on the yatra, a division bench of the court comprising Chief Justice RS Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma said the pilgrimage will start with restrictions like a daily limit on the number of devotees visiting the temples.
Carrying a negative Covid test report and a vaccination certificate will also be mandatory for the visitors, the court said.
Putting a daily cap on the number of devotees visiting the famous Himalayan temples also known as the Chardham, the high court said 800 pilgrims will be allowed in Kedarnath Dham, 1200 in Badrinath Dham in Gangotri and 400 in Yamunotri every day.
Pilgrims will not be allowed to take a bath in any of the springs around the temples, it said. The police force will be deployed as per requirements during the Char Dham Yatra in Chamoli, Rudraprayag, and Uttarkashi districts.
The court order comes as a big relief to the state government which was under pressure from various quarters to start the pilgrimage with which the livelihoods of lakhs of people including travel agents and pilgrimage priests are linked.
