Rishikesh: The rising variety of coronavirus instances in Uttarakhand has begun to forged its shadow on the forthcoming Chardham Yatra with no buses booked but by devotees to journey to the famed Himalayan temples. The Chardham Yatra begins subsequent month with the opening of the Yamunotri temple on May 14.
“Advance booking of at least 500 buses for the yatra by this time of the year was normal, but not a single passenger bus has been booked yet raising concern among people associated with the tourism industry about their trade,” Sudhir Roy, president of the yatra administration joint rotation committee that runs the pilgrimage.
Describing the state of affairs as “extremely disappointing” for bus operators who ply their automobiles alongside the yatra route, Roy stated they need to be allowed to run at their full seating capability somewhat than with 50 % seats as a compensatory measure.
“When the SOPs (Standard Operating Procedure) for the yatra is issued, the dismal scenario of the tourism industry should be kept in mind and we should be allowed to run our buses on the Chardham Yatra route at their full capacity to minimise the woes of people in the industry,” Roy stated.
However, he stated the SOPs could make it obligatory for the pilgrims to carry their adverse RT-PCR reviews not older than 72 hours with them.
If the yatris are COVID adverse, social distancing norms contained in the buses won’t be a should, he stated.
Roy has been related for many years in vital capacities with the physique that manages the operation of buses on the route.
Considering the truth that the livelihoods of tens of millions of individuals depend upon the Chardham Yatra making it the spine of Uttarakhand’s economic system, bus operators need to be given this concession, Roy stated.
There has been no inquiry but both from throughout the nation or overseas concerning the Chardham Yatra, to not communicate of any bookings, Roy stated.
Uttarakhand on Wednesday recorded its highest single-day surge in COVID instances because the outbreak of the pandemic with 4,807 folks testing constructive.
The annual pilgrimage had been hit exhausting by the pandemic final yr as nicely with the full-fledged opening of the temples for devotees delayed by a number of months.
The yatra to the high-altitude Sikh shrine of Hemkund Sahib that begins on May 10 additionally faces the same scenario this time.
The inquiries for Hemkund Sahib Yatra have been too low this yr, Hemkund Gurudwara administration committee vice-president Narinderjit Singh Bindra stated.
