91 pilgrim deaths reported during Char Dam Yatra in Uttarakhand till date

Around 14,738 visited the Kedarnath, 22,179 devotees reached Badrinath Dam, 8,960 visited the Gangotri Dham and 8,277 Yamunotri Dham till 4 pm on May 27. The total number of pilgrims reaching Gangotri Dham and Yamunotri Dham has reached 3,84,827. After reopening the doors of Shri Hemkund Sahib Gurdwara on May 22, around 10,335 devotees have paid obeisance, but this time only 5,000 devotees were allowed to offer prayers in a day.

Dehradun (Uttarakhand): In all, 11,15,000 devotees thronged Uttarakhand's Chardham Yatra after it reopened on May 3. Meanwhile, after two years of pandemic hovering over pilgrims, the number of devotees embarking on the yatra in 2019 was only 32,38,047. This year till date more than 11,15,000 devotees visited Chardham. On May 6 around 3,67,274 devotees reached Kedarnath and 3,63,788 pilgrims paid a visit to Badrinath Dham. Over 2,20,849 pilgrims visited Gangotri Dham and 63,978 Yamunotri Dham on May 3.

Around 14,738 visited the Kedarnath, 22,179 devotees reached Badrinath Dam, 8,960 visited the Gangotri Dham and 8,277 in Yamunotri Dham till 4 pm on May 27. The total number of pilgrims reaching Gangotri Dham and Yamunotri Dham has reached 3,84,827. After reopening the doors of Shri Hemkund Sahib Gurdwara on May 22, around 10,335 devotees have paid obeisance, but this time only 5,000 devotees were allowed to offer prayers in a day.

However, 91 pilgrims have lost their lives during the Char Dam Yatra in Uttarakhand that started on May 3 this year. Forty-four devotees died in Kedarnath Dham, 17 in Badrinath Dham, 24 in Yamunotri Dham and six in Gangotri Dham, informed officials on Friday. Uttarakhand Director-General (DG) Health Shailja Bhatt cited a heart attack as the primary reason behind the reported deaths on Friday. "Most of the pilgrims died due to heart attacks. Also, health services in Char Dham have been upgraded as compared to earlier. More than 169 doctors have been deployed," Bhatt said.

Rudraprayag Chief Medical Officer Bindesh Shukla said that on Friday, "A total of 1,675 devotees were provided health check-ups and treatment in which 1,208 males and 467 females. So far, 40,351 pilgrims have been tested and provided treatment. Over 935 passengers have been provided oxygen." Uttarakhand's Char Dham Yatra began with the opening of Gangotri and Yamunotri for devotees on May 3, on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya in the presence of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. While Kedarnath re-opened on May 6, the doors of Badrinath opened on May 8.