To check surging crowds at high altitude areas, number of days restricted for pilgrims  

To check surging crowds at high altitude areas, number of days restricted for pilgrims

B.D.Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, May 23

To check the crowd at high altitude places of pilgrimage and provide safety to pilgrims to ‘Adi Kailash’,  Pithoragarh district administration has taken several steps including limiting the number of staying days at high altitude areas up to maximum of for four days in place of 15 days, earlier and restricting the vehicular movement to Gunji from Dharchula and  vice versa.

“Keeping in mind some recent accidents that took during late evening hours, we have now restricted vehicular movement towards Gunji base camp of ‘Adi Kailash yatra’ route after 3, pm, and also restricted vehicular movement from Gunji to Dharchula after 4 pm,” said Reena Joshi, District Magistrate, Pithoragarh.

“These steps will not only reduce crowds at places of Gunji, Nabhidhank and Jolingkong but also ensure early return of pilgrims from Gunji after completing the yatra,” added the DM.

The District Magistrate has ordered the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to keep a doctor each at Gunji and Jolingkong besides an ambulance, oxygen cylinders and essential medicines quota so that no pilgrim should suffer due to lack of essential medical facilities at high altitude during yatra season.” I have also asked the CMO to provide first aid training to the guides going with yatra batches,” said the DM.

The administration has also made it essential to have fitness tests of every pilgrims going to ‘Adi Kailash’ at Dharchula and Gunji.

Earlier, a pilgrim could stay at the high altitude places of pilgrimage for 15 days but the number of days have been reduced to four days.

Manjit Singh, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Dharchula has said that after the yatra started on May 2, this year, a total of 4685 inner line permits have been issued by Dharchula SDM office.”We are issuing an average of 300 inner line permits on daily basis”, said the SDM.

Inner line permits are required for ‘Adi Kailash yatra’ to enter highly security sensitive region beyond Chiyalekh close to Indo-China-Nepal border, where the security agency check the inner line permits to let the pilgrims go beyond.The ‘Adi Kailash’ is at a distance of 112 km from  Dharchula base camp.

The region has facilities to lodge over 1000 pilgrims daily in the residential facilities including home stays, small hotels and beds provided by Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam(KMVN), a state government tourism subsidiary at Bundi, Gunji, ‘Adi Kailash’ and Nabhidhank.