On Tuesday, the Uttarakhand government approached the Supreme Court to challenge the High Court order staying the Char Dham Yatra. The news agency ANI reported that the state government has filed a plea before the apex court. As per the reports, on Wednesday, a hearing in connection with the yatra will proceed in the High Court.
The development in this matter followed just two days after Pushkar Singh Dhami took oath as the Chief Minister of the state. According to Zee News report, on June 28, the state’s High Court stayed the state Cabinet’s decision allowing Char Dham Yatra with a restricted number of pilgrims and further ordered live streaming of Char Dham shrines.
The report cited that the Uttarakhand High Court had asked the government to file the affidavit again by 7 July. It further stated that considering the COVID 19 and poor health preparedness, the decision of the government has been put on hold by the government.
The Uttarakhand High Court order stated, “There is, thus, a strong prima facie case in favor of the people, for not permitting the Char Dham Yatra, even in a limited manner. For, the lives of the people may be exposed to the danger of the Delta Plus variant, and to the third wave of COVID 19. If the Char Dham Yatra were permitted, we would be inviting a catastrophe”, as cited by ‘Zee News’.
As per reports, on June 25, the state cabinet have decided to partially open the Char Dham Yatra for the locals in a restricted number from July 1. Earlier, it was decided that the Yatra would be opened for the residents of few districts namely Chamoli, Uttarkashi and Rudraprayag will the cap on the number of people visiting the temples daily. Badrinath, Yumunotri, Kedarnath and Gangotri are the four pilgrimage sites in the states.
The state government as notified by Zee News informed that it would be issuing guidelines for the pilgrimage of people from the districts. Subodh Uniyal, Government spokesperson affirmed that the three districts from where the pilgrims were allowed were Chamoli, Uttarkashi and Rudraprayag.
