People associated with the Chardham Yatra on Monday demanded simplification of the guidelines related to the pilgrimage, citing practical problems being faced by pilgrims.
Hemkund Sahib Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee vice president Narinderjit Singh Bindra and Chardham Yatra joint rotation committee chief Sudhir Roy said some complexities in the standard operating procedure (SOP) issued recently on the yatra need to be addressed and simplified for the convenience of pilgrims.
“The SOP asks pilgrims to complete all formalities regarding the yatra well in advance and at the same time asks them to show a negative RT-PCR test report not older than 72 hours on arrival. How can a pilgrim who registers for the yatra two weeks in advance produce a negative test report not older than 72 hours?” Bindra said.
It is a practical problem which needs to be addressed in the interest of devotees, he said.
Yatra to the Sikh shrine of Hemkund Sahib also began along with the Chardham Yatra on September 18.
Chardham Yatra joint rotation committee president Roy demanded that the options of both online and offline registration should be available to yatris.
The Chardham Yatra joint rotation committee runs the buses that take pilgrims to the Himalayan temples.
“Pilgrims are facing problems in registering online for the yatra as Devasthanam Board portal is often down. So the option of offline or manual registration should also be made available to the yatris,” Roy said.
“The yatra had a delayed start after months of suspension and can be carried on for not more than 45 days now. So, the problems being faced by pilgrims should be solved on a priority basis, he said.
However, Devasthanam Board CEO Ravinath Raman said there was nothing wrong with the yatra SOP which had been prepared in the light of the Uttarakhand High Court’s order.
“The high court is monitoring the way the yatra is being conducted and we are bound by its order,” he said.
On the board’s portal frequently being down, Raman said it does not open after the number of pilgrims visiting the temples hits the daily limit imposed by the court.
So far, 50,000 pilgrims have registered for the yatra through the Devasthanam Board’s portal, he said. (PTI)