Uttarakhand chief minister Tivendra Singh Rawat on Monday said that there is a tremendous increase in the number of pilgrims visiting the state but said the administration needs to pay more attention to basic infrastructure development and creation of adequate tourist facilities.
With a large number of pilgrims paying a visit to Char Dham every day, the Uttarakhand's traffic has come to the standstill. Around 15 lakh pilgrims have already paid the visits to the four shrines--Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath.
Speaking to Rawat said, "This is true that pilgrimage is on the peak in comparison to the previous year. It has increased two to 2.5 times more than the previous year, however, the administration is working hard in the available time to make sure that no one faces any hassle."
"There is a tremendous increase in the number of tourists and this result in traffic. We have made arrangements for them in certain schools and colleges," he said.
Rawat further said, "It is proven that the Uttarakhand is going to become one of the top tourist destinations which offer pilgrimage as well as adventure."
"We wanted to take Uttarakhand on top of tourism and make it an industry, However, we still lack facilities like hotels for tourists. We will do proper planning in future for the same," he added.
This year's Char Dham yatra started with the opening of portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines on May 7. While doors of Kedarnath were thrown open for devotees on May 9, portals of Badrinath reopened on May 10.
The circuit of four ancient pilgrimage sites in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, i.e., Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath is referred to as 'Char Dham Yatra'.
( With inputs from ANI )