Uttarakhand government suspends Char Dham Yatra after High Court's order; Issues revised SOPs

Dehradun, June 29: In a recent development, the Uttarakhand government has suspended the Char Dham Yatra by issuing a revised standard operating procedure (SOP). This decision comes a day after the high court stayed a Cabinet decision allowing the pilgrimage to four revered Hindu temples in the state from July 1.

It can be seen that the revised SOP was issued after the government said the yatra would be allowed in two phases from July 1 and July 11. The pilgrimage was first to begin for the residents of three districts, where these shrines are located.

On Monday, the court stayed the Cabinet's decision permitting the yatra with a limited number of pilgrims from July 1 and ordered live streaming of rituals at Char Dham shrines instead.

The bench said it was not satisfied with the preparedness of the government, especially regarding the healthcare facilities and status of COVID-19 inoculation in the three districts.

The state Cabinet allowed the Char Dham yatra on Friday. On June 23, the high court pulled up the government for announcing the yatra from July 1 and directed it to review its decision.

The high court in its June 23 order remarked that large gathering invariably leads to a spike in the Covid-19 pandemic. "Already holding of Kumbh Mela and permitting a large congregation of lakhs of people on Ganga Dussehra at Har-ki-Pauri at Haridwar, are clear cut proof of the failure of the civil administration, to administer the precautionary SOPs."

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand has so far reported over 33,90,00 COVID-19 cases and 7,090 deaths. On Sunday, the state reported 120 fresh cases and three deaths. The positivity rate in the state has come down to 6.2 per cent while the recovery rate stands at 95.52 per cent. There are 2,294 active cases and the fatality rate is 2.09 per cent.