Seers and tourists at the Kedarnath shrine. (Vinay Santosh Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)The Chardham Yatra for Hindu pilgrims comprising of four famous holy Himalayan shrines - Shri Badrinath, Shri Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri - is set to begin from 1 July in Uttarakhand, reports Economic Times.
The development comes as the Uttarakhand Devasthanam Management Board on Monday (29 June) allowed residents of the hill state to visit the shrines from 1 July, subject to various precautionary measures and restrictions to avoid spread of the Covid-19.
However, it should be noted that the orders issued by Board's chief executive Ravinath Raman made it clear that the number of pilgrims allowed to visit the temples every day will be limited and that they will not be permitted to enter the sanctum sanctorum and the adjoining wings of the temple. Pilgrims will also be barred from making any offerings or touching deities' idols at the temples.
The pilgrims will have to apply for mandatory e-passes for the Yatra and they can only embark on the Yatra after passes are issued to them. However, pilgrims from containment and buffer zones won't be allowed to visit the temples for now.
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