How the Staircase Of Religious Tourism In Uttarakhand Is Breaking?

Kedarnath which was quite famous for its quiet ambiance is experiencing a heavy noise issue with the abuzz of several helicopters flying above in the sky. Years back, there was only one option to reach the Lord Shiva shrine at Kedarnath and that was by walking barefoot but now those days have gone very far away. Now, the devotees prefer reaching the shrine by helicopter which makes the place always abuzz with the sounds of helicopters. According to a report, the pilgrimage welcomes more than 300 visits by helicopter in a single day.

Uttarakhand also called Devbhoomi is emerging as the most visited city in the country. The state houses numerous spiritual places dedicated to different gods and goddesses including Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri, Gangotri, and many more in the list. After the flood incident of 2013, Uttarakhand has regained its tourism level and now the problem is to regulate the transportation and infrastructure is also thoughtful.

The Incident of 2013 and Its Impact

The entire area of this northern hill station was badly suffered in the 2013 incident but the Kedarnath Valley was left with nothing after that devastating flood. However, the religious significance of the region didn’t let it affect tourism and couldn’t stop the tourists from visiting the pilgrimage. According to the official reports, there were around 6000 devotees who lost their lives in the incident of 2013 but the state has regained its tourism charm.

The government should look after the number of devotees visiting the pilgrimage and do the development in the infrastructure accordingly. These are not only causing environmental issues but are also negotiating with the experience of the tourists. It must be kept in mind that the conditions of any place cannot be the same always and it must not be pressurized with loads of humans.

If tourism goes unregulated like this then the areas which are highly prone to disasters feel like they are taking a toll on our easily breakable ecosystem. 

Various reports based on the 2013 flood disaster have made the government think about the importance of maintaining and regulating the tourism rates and also consider the health of the tourists visiting the pilgrimage. But still, the propaganda made is lying on paper only and has not reached any level.

Tourists Come in Great Numbers from India as well as all around the World

If we go through the Draft Tourism policy of 2017 made by the state government then you will notice that the number of tourists visiting the state has increased from 11 million in 2000 to 28 million in 2012. After the 2013 incident, there was a dip observed in the tourism rate of Uttarakhand but it didn’t persist for a long time and in 2015 the number of tourists reached up to 25 million.

According to the recent statement of Chief Secretary Mr. Utpal Kumar, there is a deadline given to all the responsible departments of Uttarakhand to manage things properly and to make the roads and other facilities well-managed to provide a hassle-free Yatra to the devotees. Likewise, the state is expecting to welcome a record-breaking number of devotees this year which may cross a million which is almost three times the population of the state itself. But this is not the end of the expectations of the government as it is expecting the number to be reached up to 67 million by 2026.

If we deeply analyze the tourism report of foreign visitors then it can be concluded that only 19.4 percent of the visitors visit Uttarakhand for pilgrimage or spiritual purpose. 58 percent of the foreign visitors come to Uttarakhand for sightseeing or for spending their holiday and the rest comes for health purposes like Yoga or meditation.  However, people visiting Uttarakhand from within the country come with the main motive of the spiritual tour and explore the pilgrimages of the city like Kedarnath, Tungnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri, etc. According to last year's tourism report, 44 percent of Indian tourists visited Uttarakhand for a spiritual tour.

It is to be noted that the shrines of Char Dham Yatra are opened for half of the year and are closed in the winter season.  The idols of the temples are shifted to some other places when the temple is closed and are called the winter abodes of the particular shrine. Char Dham Yatra starts every year in April and gets closed in the first week of November.

The state government of Uttarakhand is very stressed to regulate tourism and to increase the tourism rate year by year as this is the biggest source of livelihood of this northern state and also plays a major role in increasing the economic rate of the state. And for increasing the economy rate the government is doing all possible things required to increase the growth rate of tourism.

Perception of Environmentalists

On the other hand, according to the environmentalists, these steps are showing the greed of the government and the authority and even they are hurting the sentiments of nature and the surrounding environment. Hemant Dhyani, a responsible environmentalist of Uttarakhand stated that the government is ignoring the sentiments of nature and their ruthless steps will result in the complete exploitation of the area. He also questioned that even if the traditional and the cultural sensibilities of the place then also how can we even overlook the surrounding areas of the Char Dham which are the protected areas.

According to the planning commission, it was only the unplanned development strategy of the government, Char Dham had to face the devastating flood incident in 2013. It is believed that the activities involved in the development work are not meeting up the required level of the topology and ecology of the area. Activities like deforestation, unregulated construction of houses in the region, and also blasting with high intensity are leading to the distressing ecosystem and also the destruction of the ecology of the region. It is also noted down that it is also responsible for endangering human life as well as the natural ecosystem.

What Needs to be Done in this Case?

A properly regulated chain of construction activities to be performed and the tourism rate of the state should also be regulated well. For example, the number of tourists visiting Mussoorie and Nainital must cross the capacity limit every year.

The Earlier Condition of Char Dham

Char Dham used to be a place whose tranquillity and serenity were widely known among tourists coming from all across the globe. Tourists love to do Yoga and meditation in these regions due to the completely silent ambiance. It was also known for its peaceful environment and also for respecting the sentiments of the environment but if we consider the present condition of the pilgrimages then we will notice that the regions have turned themselves into loud and they also have no respect for the sentiments of the environment. This also happened as the government is mostly focused and has made the state a commercial-oriented state. The state is no more left for spiritual value as it is only focussed on increasing the number of tourists per year and so the economic rate.

The Condition of Badrinath Dham

Badrinath, the temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu is popular for its unique Puja ritual. It is believed that the worship at Badrinath is incomplete without blowing the sounds of conches after the Puja. Years back at the time of ancestors there was no such ritual to be followed as they used to understand the sanctity of the region and so the use of conch was prohibited during that time. But nowadays, there are several loudspeakers installed on the way, and also some light and sound shows are organized to entertain the devotees covering the distance to reach the pilgrimage.

Steps Taken by the Government:

1. After the flood incident of 2013, the state government thought of maintaining a biometric database record of the pilgrims covering the divine Char Dham Yatra and at Kedarnath, local internet facilities have been established and after every few kilometers of the trek, sector magistrates have been set up.
2. According to Khushal Singh Rawat, working as a staff of the administration stated that there are cameras installed on the Kedarnath route whose live recordings can be seen directly in New Delhi at the Prime Minister’s office. He also manages the pilgrim records at Sonprayag.

Increasing Rate of Tourists Visiting Char Dham by Helicopter

Before the flood incident of 2013, the Char Dham pilgrimage was welcoming only 200-250 pilgrims per day but if we look at the average record of 2015 made by Devendra Semwal who has been working with Heritage Aviation for the past 9 years then we will see that the number has reached up to 1000 devotees per day.

WII (Wildlife Institute of India) stated that in the Mandakini Valley, the number of helicopter visits ranges between 2 and 300 which must not be exceeded at any cost.