Chardham Yatra: Registration to be mandatory while geo-tagging of travellers is on cards

Travelers have to install the app ‘Tourist Care System’ on their mobile phones and register themselves on it. Once they have registered themselves on the app, a tab will be kept on their movement en route to the five centers of faith with the help of 28 high definition cameras put up at 14 pre-identified locations along the travel route, said tourism secretary Dilip Jawalkar.

Dehradun: Pilgrims planning for the Chardham Yatra which is set to begin on Akshaya Tritiya, 3rd May, will have to mandatorily undergo the registration this time and geo-tagging will also be done, informed Tourism Secretary, Dilip Jawalkar while addressing a press conference on Saturday. The Badri-Kedar temple committee, and the state tourism department tighten their seat belts for the Yatra preparations as a large number of devotees are expected to participate in Yatra.

"As per the inputs from travel agents, a large number of bookings are being made by devotees from all over the country, so keeping that in mind and as per the directions of the Chief Secretary given during the earlier meeting, we had briefed the related departments to make the necessary arrangements."

Registrations have been made mandatory as per the CM's directions to avoid any chaos and it can be done at the state tourism website. Apart from this, Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board has developed a mobile app for the safety of devotees coming on the Char Dham yatra or a pilgrimage to the Hemkund Sahib.

Travelers have to install the app ‘Tourist Care System’ on their mobile phones and register themselves on it. Once they have registered themselves on the app, a tab will be kept on their movement en route to the five centers of faith with the help of 28 high definition cameras put up at 14 pre-identified locations along the travel route, said Dilip Jawalkar.

Pilgrims will get weather updates issued by the meteorological department on the app and advance notifications in case of any weather-related disruptions or impediments like landslides along the way, he said.

For those who are not comfortable using android phones, geo-tagging of such travellers will be done. They will be given a wristband with an individual QR code which will be connected to the 'Tourist Care System App' and all relevant information will be shared with them right from the moment they set out on their journey and till their destinations.

This year, Yatra is starting a little late and before the arrival of the monsoon which is expected on 15 July, and most of the devotees undergo the Yarta before the monsoon, so there will be a huge pressure of travellers on the route putting a major challenge for the administration to conduct a smooth yatra.

During this Chardham Yatra, the newly inaugurated idol of Adiguru Shankaracharya by PM Modi will be the center of attraction, as it was off-season when it got inaugurated last year.