The Uttarakhand government has suspended the ‘Char Dham Yatra’ saying that “conducting the yatra amid the raging pandemic is not possible.” Chief Minister, Tirath Singh Rawat said that only the priests of the four temples at Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri will perform the rituals and puja and even locals will not be allowed inside the four holy shrines.

This decision changed within a day, as on April 28, the state government seemed completely ready to hold the Yatra set to begin on May 14, saying that it was a matter of faith. The government had come up with SOPs like mandatory negative RT-PCR test reports of pilgrims, no entry into the sanctum sanctorum of the temples, etc. 

Even the Uttarakhand High Court had cautioned that the Yatra could become another hotspot. The court had directed the state to issue SOPs indicating procedure for registration of the pilgrims, the number of pilgrims allowed to travel to the respective Dham, the accommodation which would be available for the pilgrims, the number of pilgrims allowed to enter each temple at the Dham.

Ravinath Raman, the chief executive officer of Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board, told Hindustan Times that a meeting was held on Thursday, where the decision to postpone the pilgrimage due to the Covid-19 situation was taken. “If later in the year, the situation improves, the yatra can be allowed with conditions and Covid curbs.”

Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri, and Gangotri are collectively called Char Dham; the Yatra or pilgrimage begins from Yamunotri in the west, proceeds to Gangotri and ends at Kedarnath and Badrinath in the east.

The Kumbh Mela culminated in the state on April 27 with over 25,000 devotees, 1,000 seers participating in the final shahi snan (royal dip) alone. The Kumbh Mela itself had drawn flak from not just Indian but international media as well which kept pointing towards this massive congregations that was allowed to take place when the rest of the country was still grappling with Covid pandemic. Four senior seers had died of Covid after participating in Kumbh Mela which was attended by millions of devotees. On April 1 when the Kumbh Mela started, the state had 2,236 active cases which rose to 45,383 active cases as of April 28. In fact, the state recorded 108 deaths and 6,054 fresh cases on April 28, the highest single day spike for the state throughout the pandemic.

Naturally, the decision to hold Kumbh Mela was questionable and the government’s initial decision to continue with Char Dham Yatra inviting more pilgrims, also came under a lot of criticism. However, one can say some sense has prevailed and the Yatra which would have definitely become a hotspot for spread of Covid, has been suspended for now.

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The post Char Dham Yatra suspended amidst rising Covid cases appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The priests of the Chardham temples in Uttarakhand have rejected the State government’s proposal to conduct the four shrines’ annual opening ceremony online due to the coronavirus outbreak, The Telegraph reported. The temples were closed for winter on October 29 and November 17 last year.

The ceremony was scheduled to happen later this month on April 29 and 30 and the priests of the Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri temples have also brushed away the state government’s appeal to have the devotees offer puja online due to the imposed lockdown.

The spokespersons of the temples and priests’ union said that the tradition was inviolable and that cameras cannot be allowed inside the sanctum sanctorum, and so the rituals cannot be performed online.

Satpal Maharaj, state religious affairs and tourism minister, had said on Thursday after a meeting with chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat that physical performance of the opening-day rituals was not possible as the chief priests of Kedarnath and Badrinath or ‘rawals’ as they are known, were stranded outside the state and wouldn’t be able to arrive on time for the ceremony.

“Both ravals can perform the opening rituals online,” Maharaj had said. However Devbhumi Tirth Purohit Hakhakuk Dhari Mahapanchayat, a union of the priests of four temples, met and rejected the government proposal saying that performing the ceremony online went against “the norms set by Adi Shankaracharya”.

The Mahapanchayat’s spokesperson Brijesh Sati said, “No online ceremony by priests or puja by devotees is possible because cameras are prohibited at the four temples.” He also said that the huge number of pilgrims that visit the temple “is directly linked to the livelihoods of lakhs of people, including the shopkeepers in these temple towns.” “They earn for six months when the shrine is open and survive on their savings till the next season. Online puja will shatter them,” Sati said.

On a request by the State, the Centre arranged to bring the two ravals and their assistants to Uttarakhand by road, he added.

Media reports cite that Rawal Ishwari Prasad Namboodri of Shri Badrinath Temple had reached Maharashtra from Kerala last week, while Rawal 1008 Bhima Shankar Linga of Kedarnath Temple had reached Dehradun and was under quarantine. Namboodiri is to reach Chamoli on Sunday and will be quarantined immediately on arrival.

It is said that the doors of the Kedarnath temple would open on May 14 and those of Badrinath temple would open on May 15 at 4:30 AM.

Maharaj said, “In normal circumstances, someone arriving from another state must be quarantined for 14 days, but we are trying to ensure they can conduct the opening pujas.”

“We’ll draw up test charts for the ravals and send them to the state and central governments to decide on their presence at the opening-day ceremonies,” he added.

However, the Mahapanchayat seems in no mood to back down even during this time. Suresh Semwal, Mahapanchayat convener and president of the Gangotri Mandir Samiti, said: “We have seen many calamities in the past but tradition was never compromised with.”

The Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam, a government organization, has also appealed with tourists to not cancel their bookings for April and May at hotels and government guesthouses.

It must be noted that the virus is not going to magically disappear after the lockdown is relaxed. Many religious organizations have taken their services online due to the threat of transmission. Social distancing is to become a way of life. If the priests and devotees do not adhere to these physical distancing norms, will divine intervention save them from contracting the virus?

It is also noteworthy that churches of various denominations across India had suspended congregations from the middle of March with many having moved services online. In fact all special services and mass prayers during the holy month of Lent were performed in deserted churches and broadcast live to devotees. This includes services held on Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter. Many places of religious significance to Muslims had also put in place stringent anti-Covid measures. Mumbai’s famous Haji Ali dargah had voluntarily shut its doors to devotees in mid-March as a precautionary measure to curb the spread of the virus.  

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