On April 29, Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat announced that amidst rising cases of Covid-19 in the country, the Uttarakhand government has decided to suspend the Char Dham Yatra this year.
Uttarakhand government has suspended Char Dham Yatra this year in view of #COVID19 situation in the state. Only priests of the four temples will perform rituals and puja: Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat
— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2021
(File photo) pic.twitter.com/No6I9G2WDx
He said, “Uttarakhand government has suspended Char Dham Yatra this year in view of Covid-19 situation in the state. Only priests of the four temples will perform rituals and puja.” The Char Dham yatra was to begin from 14 May, 2021 this year.
Propaganda against the government over Char Dham Yatra
In the last few days, left-leaning liberal media houses such as The Wire, The Logical Indian and others have been running propaganda against the BJP-led Uttarakhand government over Char Dham Yatra. The Wire wrote that despite the criticism the state government received over Kumbh Mela, they allowed Char Dham Yatra.
While Logical Indian called Yatra a bad decision, The Indian Express pointed fingers at the Kumbh Mela for rising cases in the state. It has to be noted that the Mela was reduced to symbolic after the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi amidst rising cases of Covid-19 in the country.
Covid-19 situation in Uttarakhand
It has to be noted that last year the Char Dham Yatra was allowed with restrictions. Only 4 lakh pilgrims compared to 38 lakh in 2019 went for Char Dham Yatra in 2020. This year, there is a major surge in the cases that have resulted in the suspension of the Yatra. In a short span, the state has seen a surge of almost 1800%.
According to the data provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the state reported 6,054 cases on April 28. There are 45,383 cases active in the state. Yesterday, 3,485 people were discharged from the hospital after recovery. The state reported 108 deaths on Wednesday. The positive rate has been between 10% to 15% for one week.
