Dehradun. Strict action should be taken against those who mislead the devotees coming on Chardham Yatra. There should be proper arrangements for food and the rest of the mules in Kedarnath and Yamunotri Dham, there should be 100% compliance with the guidelines made in this regard. Strict action should be ensured against those who black the tickets of helicopters.

The Minister of Tourism, Public Works, Irrigation, Panchayati Raj, Rural Works, Watershed, Dharmaswa and Culture, Satpal Maharaj, all those present in the review meeting on Chardham Yatra preparations held at Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Auditorium of Vishwakarma Bhawan, Uttarakhand Secretariat on Wednesday. Somewhere giving instructions to the officers of the departments. He said that Char Dham Yatra is a matter of prestige of the state, so there should not be any kind of negligence in this matter.

Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj said that there should be elaborate arrangements for the deployment of SDRF, police force, water police, divers, and traffic police on pilgrimages and pilgrimage routes during the yatra season. Regular checking of vehicles should be ensured. Special attention should be paid to the arrangement of JCB and other machines etc. by identifying the places where the road is mostly blocked. He said that along with regular checking of vehicles by setting up check posts on the Chardham Yatra route, guidelines related to travel should be issued to drivers and travel agencies, etc. Arrangements should also be made to keep literature related to the information about various circuits established in the state in every taxi for the information of the passengers coming on the journey. He said that through the Manav Utthan Seva Samiti, insurance of Rs 10 crore will also be done for the pilgrims coming on Chardham Yatra.

During the review meeting, Cabinet Minister Maharaj said that while increasing the culture of welcoming and greeting the pilgrims coming on the Char Dham Yatra, they should be greeted with the speech of Jai Gangotri, Jai Yamunotri, Jai Badri Vishal, and Jai Kedar. Giving clear instructions to the departmental officers, he said that private hotels, dhabas, etc. situated on the Yatra routes should have a fixed rate list of food and accommodation facilities. He also instructed the officials to make proper arrangements for foot massages in the dams.

The Tourism Minister said that under the Chardham Yatra, which is going to start on April 22, a total of 997,100 pilgrims have registered themselves so far. Whereas, under the booking of GMVN Guest Houses which started on 16 February 2023, a total of more than Rs 7.53 crore has been booked so far. That’s why all arrangements should be made well in time.

During the review meeting, Tourism Minister Maharaj expressed anger over the absence of officials of the Animal Husbandry, Urban Development, and Drinking Water Department and also gave instructions for action. He also instructed the officers to ensure the provision of life-saving medicines, equipment, portable oxygen cylinders, ambulances, and air ambulances along with the deployment of doctors and required staff in temporary medical centers on the Char Dham Yatra. In the review meeting, Garhwal Commissioner Sushil Tourism Secretary Officers of various departments including Sachin Kurve, V. Murugesan, and C. Ravi Shankar were present.