admin Published: 03 May, 2019

Heli Ambulance to Help Kedarnath Pilgrims During Emergencies

Here is some good news for pilgrims to the Kedarnath Yatra 2019. This year, special arrangements have been made for devotees on their way to the yatra. In addition to the other services, heli ambulance services have also been made available for pilgrims in case of emergency situations. This is a welcome step taken by the Uttarakhand government because pilgrims facing any health related emergencies can now be airlifted and provided medical attention in the shortest possible time. This will make the supply of medicines and other required medical attention faster and more effective, thereby increasing the safety of the pilgrims. This is a welcome move and should be applauded, as heli ambulance service will ensure that the pilgrim receives medical treatment quickly in cases of emergency.

Installation of health posts on Kedarnath route

The government has also installed around 13 health posts along the 16km Kedarnath walking route. This will ensure that devotees are never far away from health specialists during the course of the yatra. In addition, the government also plans to post medical specialists in Kedarnath during the course of the Kedarnath Char Dham yatra. To ensure that medical attention is provided timely and effectively to the pilgrims, the government has also decided to allot 150 doctors on special “Yatra Duty”. This is quite commendable because many devotees find the altitude and weather conditions quite difficult to deal with. With the safety and health concerns of the devotees in mind, the government has decided to increase medical facilities at the other three dhams: Gangotri, Yamunotri and Badrinath. Apart from the Char Dham pilgrimage destinations in India, health posts at other famous pilgrimage destinations in Uttarakhand like Tungnath, Madmaheshwar and Triyuginarayan Temple have also been set up.

Pilgrims above 60 years to receive medical screening

With the goal of providing better health services to the pilgrims to Kedarnath Dham, the Health Department of the Uttarakhand government is installing a health post at Rishikesh ISBT. Here, all the devotees making their way to Char Dham Yara will undergo health check ups. Further, those above the age of 60 years will also have their blood pressure checked and then registered. After examining the patients for any health related complications, those who are found to be medically unfit will be dissuaded from going to the Kedarnath Yatra. With the objective of providing speedy and effective medical facilities to the devotees, the government has also decided to provide medicines at the health posts itself. This way, no time is lost between procuring the medicine and then administering the medications.

The number of Kedarnath pilgrims staying overnight will be reduced this time

The number of pilgrims staying overnight at Kedarnath Dham yatra will be limited this time. It should be remembered that the last time the number of people staying overnight was 5,000. This time though, that number has reduced to 2,500. Due to the heavy snowfall which occurred earlier this year, the huts & rest houses run by GMVN (Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam) have faced serious damages. (GMVN, or, Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam, which is a Government of Uttarakhand Enterprise, offers a wide range of accommodation options to pilgrims during the Char Dham Yatra season).

Steps being taken to increase the accommodation options

Unlike last time when the Tent Colony was created by GMVN at Kedarnath, this time, its creation is facing various difficulties due to the lack of space. Due to the construction of cottages by the UP Rajkiya Nirman Nigam, the numbers of beds available to pilgrims is around 800. This is a significant reduction in the number of beds available last year, which was 1400. However, due to the damages incurred by the Nirman Nigam because of heavy snowfall, the numbers of beds available has been reduced from 500 to 200.

In another place called Swargarohini, just 60 VIP beds are available. Regarding the problem of shortage of beds during this Kedarnath Yatra season, the Commissioner Garhwal BVRC Purushottam said that all efforts are underway to ensure that maximum number of beds are available to the pilgrims. Towards that end, the number of beds are also being increased. To further increase the accommodation capacity, tents are also being borrowed from SDRF (State Disaster Response Force). The goal is to ultimately increase the beds to 4,000.

Char Dham Yatra 2019: opening and closing dates

Dham	Opening Date	Closing Date
Kedarnath	09.05.2019	29.10.2019
Badrinath	10.05.2019	09.11.2019
Gangotri	07.05.2019	28.10.2019
Yamunotri	07.05.2019	29.10.2019