Modi's Mukhwa visit has enthused Char Dham pilgrims Uttarakhand govt

Dehradun, Mar 25 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Mukhwa, the winter abode of "Mother Ganga" in Uttarkashi district earlier this month, has created a favourable atmosphere for the Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand.
     Char Dham Yatra refers to a pilgrimage of four holy sites -- Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath -- situated in the higher ranges of the Himalayas.
     Modi visited Mukhwa and Harsil on March 6.
     The annual Char Dham Yatra is scheduled to begin this year with the opening of the doors of Gangotri and Yamunotri temples in the Garhwal Himalayas on April 30.
     Prime Minister Modi's visit to Mukhwa, "the winter seat of Maa Ganga", and tourist destination Harsil has created a favourable atmosphere for the annual pilgrimage. It has enthused pilgrims even more, an official release here said.
     It was for the first time that the prime minister came to Uttarakhand close to the start of the Char Dham Yatra.
     Though he came to formally promote winter pilgrimage to the Himalayan temples, did considerable branding of the Char Dham Yatra too, it said.
     The prime minister's grand promotion of the Yatra has created more enthusiasm among people.
     Seeing the enthusiasm for registration, preparations are being made for better crowd management, it said.
     "The government is busy preparing for the Char Dham Yatra. The travel arrangements of Uttarakhand have attracted devotees from all over the country and the world and have increased their confidence.
     "The Prime Minister has promoted the Char Dham Yatra a lot. We are committed to providing better facilities to the pilgrims," Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said.
     This time the Char Dham Yatra is starting ten days earlier than last year.
     The Char Dham Yatra was inaugurated on May 10 last year. This time it is starting from April 30.
     In 2023, the Yatra started on April 22 and a record 56,18497 pilgrims reached Uttarakhand.
     In 2024, despite natural disasters disrupting the Yatra for nearly a month, the number of pilgrims surprised everyone as more than 48 lakh of them reached Uttarakhand for the Yatra.
     The portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri temples will open for devotees on April 30 followed by the opening of the gates of Kedarnath on May 2 and those of Badrinath on May 4.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)