The Uttarakhand High Court has asked the state government to review its decision to reopen the Char Dham Yatra on July 1.

A division bench of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma heard a PIL related to the Uttarakhand govt’s handling of Covid-19. During the hearing, the bench observed that the Covid-19 infections should not be re-invited by permitting large gatherings at religious places and reopening the Char Dham Yatra.
“Perhaps the Char Dham Yatra needs to be postponed or cancelled, the cancellation of the Yatra might cause financial difficulties for the residents of the Char Dham, but “it is more important to save the lives of the people,” the court said.

It further gave the idea of live streaming the shrines, which will take care of the religious sentiments of the devotees without risking their lives. “Such live streaming would permit the devotees to witness the deity, to pay reverence to the deity, and yet save the lives of the people,” the court added.

The court asked the state to review Yatra’s decision by considering a few points that include the Kumbha Mela organised in April. According to the media reports, 59 per cent of deaths in the state due to Covid-19 were in May 2021. This clearly shows a correlation between the holding of Kumbh Mela in April and the deaths that occurred in Uttarakhand in May, said the report citing the bench.