The Uttarakhand government revised Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the Char Dham Yatra 2022 and issued new guidelines. Due to the increasing number of coronavirus cases in the country, the Uttarakhand Char Dham Management Board announced a new set of guidelines for the yatra.
Finally, the good news has come for the pilgrims who wish to embark on the holy sojourn of Char Dham Yatra 2022. The Uttarakhand High Court has lifted the stay from the Yatra and issued some COVID-19 guidelines for the devotees who are aiming to go for the Char Dham Yatra.
Here are the latest SOPs for Char Dham Yatra, which people are required to follow.
- Only fully vaccinated people with a mandatory COVID-19 negative report are allowed to embark on the holy yatra.
- It is mandatory to show the vaccination certificate along with the negative report issued by the ICMR authorized laboratory.
- Devotees are required to follow the strict COVID-19 protocols like social distancing and wearing masks.
- A limited number of pilgrims are allowed with the capping of 800 devotees at Kedarnath Dham, 1200 at Badrinath Dham, 600 at Gangotri, and 400 devotees at Yamunotri Dham in a day.
- Pilgrims are not permitted to take a holy bath in any of the springs around the temples.
The Char Dham Yatra was scheduled to start from 14th May but amidst the rising COVID-19 cases, the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Tirath Singh Rawat had suspended the Yatra for the devotees. On 29th April, he had said “Uttarakhand government has suspended Char Dham Yatra this year in view of COVID-19 situation in the state. Only priests of the four temples will perform rituals and puja.”
Now, the new guidelines have been issued for the holy sojourn. According to this, the local employees and officers working at the holy temples along with the priests of the pilgrimage sites are allowed to visit the temples. Although, it is mandatory for them to bring COVID-19 negative certificates.
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