Concerns Over Carrying Capacity After No Limit on Char Dham Yatra

Despite repeated concerns over the unchecked influx of pilgrims to the ecologically fragile Char Dham shrines nestled in the higher Himalayas—that have even drawn the attention of the National Green Tribunal (NGT)—the Garhwal administration has decided against imposing a cap on daily pilgrim numbers, ignoring the recommendations of a report by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Rohtak on carrying capacity for the shrines.

- Amit Bathla

DEHRADUN: Despite repeated concerns over the unchecked influx of pilgrims to the ecologically fragile Char Dham shrines nestled in the higher Himalayas—that have even drawn the attention of the National Green Tribunal (NGT)—the Garhwal administration has decided against imposing a cap on daily pilgrim numbers, ignoring the recommendations of a report by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Rohtak on carrying capacity for the shrines.

The report, titled "Enhancing the Devotee Experience: Optimizing the Carrying Capacity and Standard Operating Procedures for Char Dham Shrines," submitted to the state government in July last year, accessed by HT through Right to Information (RTI), said the Kedarnath Dham, most visited among the four revered shrines, can only accommodate 17,894 pilgrims each day, Badrinath Dham 15,088, Gangotri Dham 9,016, and Yamunotri Dham 7,871.

This followed the NGT's directive to the Uttarakhand government on July 31, 2024 to submit an affidavit detailing the pilgrim carrying capacity for the pilgrimage centers in Uttarakhand.