The Chardham Yatra in Uttarakhand will begin on Saturday after its prolonged suspension due to COVID-19. A day after the Uttarakhand High Court vacated its stay on Chardham Yatra, the state government on Friday issued a detailed SOP to start the yatra from Saturday with strict adherence to COVID-19 norms. Imposing a daily limit on the number of pilgrims visiting the Himalayan temples, the SOP put a cap of 1,000 pilgrims daily on Badrinath, 800 on Kedarnath, 600 on Gangotri and 400 on Yamunotri. Showing a document certifying administration of both doses of the anti- Covid vaccine at least 15 days back or a negative RT/PCR/TrueNat/CBNAAT/RAT Covid test report not older than 72 hours will be compulsory for every pilgrim visiting the shrines, it said. Pilgrims from inside the ...
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In Uttarakhand near Ranikhet on the Majkhali-Someshwar road off Paikham in the forest area is Dakshini Kailash Ashram, Aidadhyo. A beautiful place in the middle of forest. I will share another aspect of its beauty in a forthcoming video, but here we are taking you to this ashram quite revered in the region, but still not known much. It was tough to reach here and stay here overnight during the COVID times, but I still managed. We will tell you about the ashram as well as talk to the siting Mahant of the ashram, Vishambar Giri. This is first time you will be seeing any video of this place on YouTube. !function(e,t,c,a){if(!e.fwn&&(a="fwn_script",n=e.fwn=function(){ n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments) },e._fwn||(e._fwn=n),n.queue=[],!t.getE...
Read MoreDespite pressure from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh government to allow, the Uttarakhand government on Tuesday cancelled the Kanwar Yatra in view of the looming threat of a third wave of COVID-19. "We decided to cancel the yatra, according topmost priority to human life in view of the threat of a possible third wave, the surfacing of the Delta Plus variant of the virus and its impact across the country and abroad," Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said. The decision was taken after a meeting with senior officials and considering all aspects into account including the opinion of medical experts, he said. FILE PHOTO: Kanwarias on way back from Haridwar. Source: Twitter The chief minister also asked Director General of Police Ashok Kumar to coordinate with officials of the neighbouri...
Read MoreThe Corbett Tiger Reserve was opened on Tuesday for round-the-year tourism. Five ranges of the reserve including Garjia, Bijrani, Dhara-Jhirna, Dhela and Pakhron were opened this afternoon for day visits for the whole year, Corbett's Director Rahul said. Corbett's opening generated great enthusiasm among wildlife lovers with around 50 bookings made for the day safaris on the inaugural day, he said. Opening the reserve for round-the-year tourism will help people whose livelihoods are connected with it, Rahul said. Corbett's revenues have been hit hard by the Covid pandemic and a measure like this will help offset the impact, he said. !function(e,t,c,a){if(!e.fwn&&(a="fwn_script",n=e.fwn=function(){ n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(argu...
Read MoreCorbett and Rajaji tiger reserves in Uttarakhand will now remain open for visitors throughout the year, state Forest and Environment Minister Harak Singh Rawat said on Friday. The two tiger reserves located in Nainital and Haridwar districts respectively remain closed to visitors every year from June 30 to mid-November. The decision to keep the two tiger reserves open round the year was taken after a discussion with the forest department top brass, Rawat said. He said opening the two tiger reserves throughout the year is part of plans to boost the department's income hit hard by the Covid pandemic over the last one and half years. The purpose is to open eco-tourism zones for wildlife lovers and provide more livelihood options in the time of the Covid pandemic, the minister...
Read MoreUttarakhand Cabinet on Friday decided to partially open the Chardham yatra for locals in limited numbers from July 1. Briefing reporters about the cabinet's decision, state government's spokesman Subodh Uniyal said Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri will be opened for residents of Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi districts respectively from July 1 with a cap on the number of pilgrims to visit the temples daily. Bringing a negative RT-PCR/Rapid Antigen test report will be mandatory for every pilgrim and the SOPs to be followed by them while visiting the temples will be issued separately, Uniyal said. A senior official will be appointed for each of the four Himalayan temples who will coordinate with the district administration concerned about the arrangement for pi...
Read MoreThe Uttarakhand government is considering a phased opening of the Chardham Yatra after Covid subsides and the coronavirus induced curfew is lifted. It is being planned to open the Chardham Yatra in a phased manner if the pandemic subsides in the coming weeks though nothing has been finalised yet, Tourism and Culture Minister Satpal Maharaj said on Thursday. He had met Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat to discuss problems faced by the tourism industry due to the second wave of Covid. In the first phase, the yatra will be opened for residents of Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi districts where the four Himalayan temples known as Chardham are located. If things go smoothly, people of the rest of the districts may also be permitted to undertake the pilgrimage in the second ...
Read MoreThe Chardham Yatra will have a lacklustre opening for the second consecutive year due to COVID-19 pandemic as the portals of Yamunotri and Gangotri will open on Friday and Saturday respectively without any pilgrims in attendance. Located in Uttarakhand's Garhwal region, all the four temples also called Chardham, have been kept out of bounds for devotees as a precautionary measure in view of the surge in COVID-19 cases. Not more than 25 people each, including priests, teerth purohits and district administration officials, will attend the opening ceremonies at Yamunotri and Gangotri which will be low-key affairs, Gangotri Mandir Samiti official Rajesh Semwal said. Last year also they had reopened after their closure in winters only so that the priests could conduct regular pray...
Read MoreThe Union Cabinet has approved transfer of 1500 square metres of land belonging to Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) at Mussoorie to the State Government of Uttarakhand for their infrastructure project, namely, 'Aerial Passenger Ropeway System' between Dehradun and Mussoorie. The proposed Ropeway is a mono-cable ropeway of 5580 meters length under Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode between Purkul Gaon, Dehradun (Lower Terminal Station) and Library, Mussoorie (Upper Terminal Station) being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs.285 crore with a carrying capacity of 1000 persons per hour per direction. FILE PHOTO: Ropeway at Kempty Falls in Mussoorie This will considerably reduce the traffic flow on road route from Dehradun to Mussoorie. A travel time of more than an hour (almos...
Read MoreA subspecies of the Himalayan red fox was spotted at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand at a height of 3,000 metres, officials said on Wednesday. The variety, known as Vulpes Vulpes griffithi, was seen in Bhujani and Khaliya Top areas of Munsiyari at an elevation of 3,000 metres, some 500 metres below the altitude, where its habitat is located, for the first time in recent years, said Surendra Panwar, president of Monal NGO that has been working towards the protection of upper range Himalayan animals for around 10 years. FILE PHOTO: A Himalayan Red Fox in Kumaon region of Uttarakhand "We have seen at least eight subspecies of the red fox at such an elevation in the Himalayan region after following it fruitlessly for two years," he said. Asked about the reasons behind the increased vis...
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