Char Dham yatra: New rules for pilgrims aged above 50. Details here

Uttarakhand government on Sunday said that pilgrims above the age of 50who are planning to take the Char Dham yatra will now have to undergo mandatory health screening.

The state government took the decision as the number of people who died while undertaking the yatra crossed the 100 mark. According to the state health department, 101 pilgrims have died during the course of the yatra, including 49 in Kedarnath Dham, 20 in Badrinath Dham, 7 in Gangotri Dham and 25 in Yamunotri Dham. Of these, one each died in Kedarnath and Badrinath on Sunday.

A look at the data of pilgrim deaths in previous years shows that over 90 Char Dham devotees died in 2019, 102 in 2018 and 112 in 2017 during the entire season which lasts nearly six months from April-May to October-November every year.

“We have decided to make the medical screening mandatory for all the pilgrims aged 50 and above, who are coming for Char Dham yatra,” said Shailaja Bhatt, director-general of health, Uttarakhand, as reported by Hindustan Times.

BK Shukla, chief medical officer of Rudraprayag, said: “The pilgrims found medically unfit to embark on the journey further are being advised to return and we are also taking an undertaking from those pilgrims who refuse to comply and are adamant about reaching the shrine.”

KS Chauhan, chief medical officer of Uttarkashi, also confirmed that medical screening is being conducted on a mandatory basis for pilgrims above 50 years. “The medical screening is being conducted at three places at Barkot, Jan Ki Chatti and at Yamunotri shrine while the medical screening is being conducted on a mandatory basis for the pilgrims above 50 years of age at Hina and at Gangotri shrine,” he said.

Pradeep Bhardwaj, who heads Six Sigma Healthcare that provides free medical facilities in Kedarnath, attributed the high number of deaths to a combination of factors, including absence of an acclimatisation mechanism, weak immunity of pilgrims most of whom have Covid history, precarious weather and inadequate arrangements considering the heavy rush of pilgrims.

"As most of the pilgrims are not used to such high altitudes they should be given a break in their journey at lower heights to help them acclimatise themselves with the kind of weather they are going to confront in higher altitudes.

"They are not able to cope with the abrupt climatic change that they experience after coming from lower altitudes to the Himalayan temples located averagely at a height of 10,000 to 12,000 ft," Bhardwaj , a qualified doctor told PTI.

He said many pilgrims do not come with proper clothing as they are not aware of the extreme cold conditions prevailing in the high altitudes.

"We have noticed that many of those who died on way to Kedarnath died of hypothermia which is caused by extreme cold conditions," he said.

The weather in Kedarnath often turns bad in the afternoon. A bright sunny day in no time gives way to overcast conditions with isolated rains. As there are no rain shelters within three km radius of Kedarnath, pilgrims often get drenched and are finally down with hypothermia, he said.

The Char Dham yatra began on May 3, after a two-year hiatus caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The yatra comprises pilgrimage to Yamunotri and Gangotri in Uttarkashi, Kedarnath in Rudraprayag and Badrinath in Chamoli districts -- all located in the mountainous terrain of Garhwal Himalayas.

An official familiar with the matter attributed the deaths to cardiac arrest and other health-related ailments.