Covid-19 | Chardham Yatra in Uttarakhand postponed

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The Chardham Yatra to the four famous Himalayan shrines in Uttarakhand, which was scheduled to begin in May, has been postponed due to the massive surge in COVID-19 cases.

The Uttarakhand state government announced the postponement of the famous yatra to the four Himalayan shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and the Yamunotri after the rise in COVID-19 cases.

Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat said that conducting the yatra amid the raging pandemic is not possible. Though the portals of the four Himalayan temples known as Chardham will open as scheduled. But, they will open only for priests to perform regular prayers and not for devotees, he said.

The puja and rituals will be performed by the priests as usual but devotees are strictly prohibited.

The decision came in the wake of an exponential rise in covid-19 cases in Uttarakhand as well as other states across India.

India saw a record single-day rise of 3,79,257 new coronavirus infections pushing the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 1,83,76,524.

India’s total active caseload has reached 30,84,814 and now comprises 16.79 per cent of the country’s total positive cases. A net increase of 1,06,105 cases has been recorded in the total active caseload in a span of 24 hours.