Dehradun: Since the Char Dham Yatra began in Uttarakhand in May this year, a total of 184 devotees have died, according to data released by the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) on Friday. Of these, 178 deaths were due to health reasons, while six others lost their lives in a natural disaster in the Kedarnath valley on July 31.
More than 33 lakhs pilgrims visited the shrine
Char Dham pilgrimage Yatra began this year on May 10 with the opening of the Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri temples for pilgrims in the Garhwal Himalayas. Whereas, the portals of Badrinath opened on May 12. Additionally, more than 33 lakh pilgrims have visited the Himalayan temples over a period of more than three months.
Cloudburst incident on 31 July severely affected the pilgrim footfall
After the cloudburst incident in Kedarnath valley on 31 July which has largely damaged the 19 km trek routes at 29 places with washing away two connecting bridges, there has been a sharp decline in the number of pilgrims going to Kedarnath. Though the pilgrimage to Kedarnath through the trek route has remained largely suspended in August, arrival of pilgrims in Kedarnath by helicopters continues. After relentless efforts made by PWD, BRO, SDRF, NDRF, this trek was restored two days before and on Thursday, 820 pilgrims reached the Kedarnath shrine. A total of 3986 pilgrims reached Char Dham shrines-Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri along with Hemkund Sahib on Thurday.
Six people died in Kedarnath cloudburst
Six people tragically lost their lives in the Kedarnath cloudburst on July 31 this year. This natural disaster caused significant damage and disruption in the area, highlighting the ongoing challenges faced by those living and traveling in the region. According to the figures issued by the SEOC, natural disasters damaged 87 houses fully, 252 severely and 1,274 partially across the 13 districts of Uttarakhand since June 15. Along with this, 65 people have died in natural disasters since 15 June and more than 2810 roads have been affected by landslides and debris blocking the roads.