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Tuesday - June 03, 2025
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10:41 PM
Tuesday - June 03, 2025
Weather: 10°C
REGD.-HP-09-0015257
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Char Dham Numbers Don’t Add Up: No System in Uttarakhand or India to Track Real Pilgrim Footfall
Dehradun | June 3
Here’s the hard truth — Uttarakhand doesn’t know how many people actually visit the Char Dham.
And it’s not alone. No Indian state, including this Himalayan one that hosts one of the country’s most sacred yatras, has a robust system to track "unique visitors."
What we get instead is a headcount jumble — inflated, repetitive, and often politically convenient.
This came out loud and clear during an online dialogue organised by the SDC Foundation with prominent stakeholders of the Char Dham Yatra.
From experts to tour operators and hotel associations — all were on the same page: the pilgrimage has become unnecessarily complex, and the government is boosting footfall figures without knowing who’s really coming.
One pilgrim = four visits? That’s the math.
“If one person visits all four dhams — Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath — they’re counted four times,” said Rawal Pawan Prakash Uniyal of Yamunotri.
That means four pilgrims doing the full circuit? 16 visits on record. Reality? Just four actual individuals.
And that’s just the beginning of the numbers game. Online registration is mandatory, but no one knows how many of those who register actually show up.
There’s no mechanism to track dropouts, nor to crosscheck real-time ground footfall.
As Anoop Nautiyal, founder of SDC Foundation, bluntly put it: “Registration is different, actual numbers are different.”
Broken roads
They didn’t hold back. Ashok Semwal of Gangotri said even meetings with the PM and HM have gone in vain.
Roads in Yamunotri and Gangotri are still dangerous and narrow.
“Instead of widening existing roads, new routes are being planned that will take years, cost more, and damage the environment,” he warned.
Tourism ≠ Pilgrimage
Tour operators too are frustrated. Abhishek Ahluwalia, President of the Uttarakhand Tour Operators Association, said many operators have opted out of Char Dham packages because of the complicated maze of OTPs, trip cards, and long queues.
“Online slots are booked till June 10, and the heat is killing for those waiting offline,” he said.
Char Dham ≠ Kainchi Dham anymore?
Rawal Uniyal dropped a bombshell: Kainchi Dham (Neem Karoli Baba Ashram) is attracting more people than Yamunotri now.
That’s a new shift in religious tourism trends — and a red flag.
Inflated Figures, Deflated Trust
The government says nearly 6 crore tourists visited Uttarakhand in 2023.
But critics say the real number of unique visitors is more likely 2 to 3 crore.
And Char Dham Yatra’s actual unique pilgrims?
Somewhere between 35 to 50 lakh, not the 1 crore+ claims floating around.
“Footfall data is a convenient narrative tool. But without a unique ID-based tracking mechanism, we’re just recycling numbers — not capturing reality", say critics.
Time to Fix the System
SDC Foundation has called for an annual conference of all stakeholders and minimum government interference to preserve the spiritual essence of the yatra.
But more than that, it’s time for Uttarakhand — and India — to invest in a tech-enabled, transparent pilgrim tracking system that doesn’t confuse headcount with human beings.
Because until then, the Char Dham numbers? They’re more fiction than fact.
Ajay Puri, Naveen Mohan, Ashutosh Pandey, Harsh Vardhan Singh, Paramjit Singh Kakkar, Jagmohan Mehandiratta, Devender Singh Monty, Trilochan Bhatt, Rakesh Kapoor, Praveen Upreti, Vinod also participated in the dialog.
#CharDhamYatra #PilgrimTruth #TourismDataCrisis #UttarakhandMatters
#OpJalRahat2 | Sikkim-Manipur Flash Flood Havoc: 3 Army Personnel Dead, 6 Missing; Over 500 Rescued in Manipur. Are SOPs for Safety of Army Camps put in Place in Disaster Prone Areas in Himalayan States?
Shimla/Lachen / Imphal, June 3 – The Indian Army’s Operation Jal Rahat-2 continues in full swing across flood-hit Manipur and Sikkim, but dark clouds of tragedy and unanswered questions hover over the rescue mission in Sikkim’s Lachen town and in rest of the vulnerable areas in the Himalayan states.
While three army personnel have been confirmed dead, six, including Lieutenant Colonel Pritpal Sandhu, his wife and daughter, remain missing as search operations enter Day-2.
The situation is especially grim in Lachen, North Sikkim, where the raging landslides swallowed an army camp during the night. But the real shocker?
Why was an army camp established in such a vulnerable, high-risk flash flood zone in the first place?
Isn’t it protocol for the Army to conduct thorough terrain surveys, geological risk assessments, and avalanche-prone zone checks before setting up any infrastructure, let alone a full-fledged camp?
The Army has been consistently losing valuable lives of its soldiers to natural hazards every year — be it in the snowbound terrains of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, the landslide-prone slopes of Kinnaur and Uttarakhand, or the fragile zones of the Northeast and Arunachal Pradesh.
These aren’t isolated incidents — they point to a larger systemic gap in disaster risk assessment and planning.
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) do exist for high-altitude areas — covering avalanche mitigation, early evacuation drills, and weather-triggered red alert protocols.
Yet, implementation often falls short.
Equipment like ground-based radar systems for avalanche detection, AWS (Automatic Weather Stations), satellite-based rainfall monitoring, and early warning sensors for glacial lake outbursts (GLOFs) should be actively deployed in all forward camps.
Real-time data sharing with IMD, SASE, and the National Centre for Seismology must be institutionalized rather than left to delayed response.
With Sikkim’s volatile topography – prone to glacial lake outbursts, landslides, and cloudbursts – the role of geological agencies and SASE (Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment) is now under sharp scrutiny.
Was there no prior warning? No mapping of flood risk zones?
Despite these serious questions, the Army has yet to respond to the safety concerns over camp locations raised by Himbumail.com.
The silence only amplifies the need for accountability, especially when lives are at stake.
It’s high time the Army becomes more wary of weather-related threats and natural hazards.
Mapping of vulnerable zones must be made mandatory before establishing camps.
Coordination with SASE, NDRF, SDRF, IMD, and geologists isn’t a formality — it’s a lifesaving necessity.
Natural disaster safety protocols must be woven into operational planning to protect our jawans from nature’s fury.
Meanwhile, in flood-ravaged Manipur, the Indian Army and Assam Rifles carried out massive rescue operations across Imphal East and West, evacuating over 500 people from submerged areas like Wangkhei, Heingang, Khurai, Lamlong, JNIMS, and Ahallup.
Ten flood relief columns equipped with BAUTs and inflatable boats were pressed into service, while emergency repairs were carried out on the breached Iril River boundary wall near Arapti Lamkhai in Thoubal district to prevent further inundation.
At JNIMS Hospital, Army boats ferried stranded patients to safety, while troops distributed nearly 800 bottles of drinking water and other essential supplies to displaced families.
As Army personnel continue to operate round-the-clock in coordination with civil authorities, a critical debate emerges:
When nature has already marked certain zones ‘hazard-prone’, can we really afford to ignore science and geotechnical wisdom while setting up vital military infrastructure?
The bravery on the ground is undeniable. But somewhere, the planners and experts owe the fallen – and their families – some hard answers.
#SikkimFlashFloods #ManipurRescue #ArmyCampSafety #HimbumailReport
Char Dham Yatra 2025 Witnesses 12% Dip in First Month: Weather Woes, Geo-Politics, and Messy Registration to Blame, Says SDC Foundation
Dehradun, June 2:
The Char Dham Yatra 2025 has opened on a slower note this season, with a significant 12% dip in the number of pilgrims in its first month compared to the same period last year. As per data compiled by Dehradun-based SDC Foundation, just over 17.17 lakh pilgrims visited the sacred shrines of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri in the first 30 days this year. This is over 2.38 lakh less than the 19.56 lakh recorded in the first month of 2024.
Breaking it down, Kedarnath saw the steepest fall in footfall – a 13% drop – with 6.49 lakh pilgrims making the journey this year compared to 7.48 lakh last year. Gangotri followed with a 14% decline, from 3.39 lakh in 2024 to 2.93 lakh this year. Yamunotri’s numbers dropped by 11%, and even Badrinath, usually more accessible, saw a dip of 3%.
So what’s behind this downturn?
“It’s not just one reason,” said Anoop Nautiyal, founder of SDC Foundation. “There’s a mix of factors at play – from the impact of earlier Indo-Pak tensions, to unpredictable weather in the early days of the yatra, to persistent confusion and delays in the registration process.
All these have contributed to this year’s drop.”
Nautiyal stressed that the issues aren’t new, but they’re becoming harder to ignore.
“Pilgrims and travel organizers alike continue to face major hurdles with the registration system. It’s disorganized, chaotic, and often a turn-off for many planning their yatra.”
SDC Foundation, which has been consistently tracking the Char Dham Yatra using official data, had flagged many of these issues last year too. In its 2024 report titled ‘Pathways to Pilgrimage’, the group recommended crowd control measures, a cap on daily footfall based on carrying capacity, and significant improvements in health infrastructure and registration systems.
“The Char Dham Yatra isn’t just a religious journey – it’s also about ensuring safety, ecological balance, and a decent experience for pilgrims.
We’ve repeatedly submitted constructive suggestions based on data and patterns. But planning often starts too late,” Nautiyal added.
He also urged the state government to start planning for the 2026 yatra as soon as the portals close later this year.
“Delaying decisions until March or April is a mistake. If we’re serious about managing the yatra better, preparations must begin in October or November.”
As the 2025 yatra progresses, it remains to be seen whether the pilgrim count picks up pace.
But the early numbers and expert voices like SDC Foundation are already sending a clear message: the path to better pilgrimage lies in timely, data-driven, and sustainable planning.
Locked Out: Government Office in Tribal Bharmaur Dislodged Over 3-Year Unpaid Rent
Chamba, Himachal Pradesh – June 2, 2025
In a shocking example of administrative neglect, the Naib Tehsildar’s office in Dharwala, located in tribal Bharmaur of Chamba district, has been locked out by the building owner after three years of unpaid rent.
Despite repeated written reminders to the district administration and revenue officials, not a single rupee has been paid to the landlord since the office began operating from the premises.
Fed up with the apathy, the owner finally took matters into his own hands and sealed the government office, disrupting essential public services in the remote tribal region.
Naib Tehsildar Dharwala admitted the problem, saying, “When I enquired, I was told it happened due to lack of financial resources. We’ve been managing under severe constraints.”
Calling the situation unacceptable, BJP MLA Dr. Janak Raj, who represents Bharmaur, said, “I have instructed the Deputy Commissioner to take swift and immediate action to resolve the matter.
This is exactly the kind of ‘Vyavastha Parivartan’ I stand for—where basic systems are fixed and made accountable.”
For locals in this remote and underserved region, the incident is both frustrating and symbolic.
“If the state can’t even pay rent for its own office, what hope do we have for schools, roads, or healthcare?” said a resident standing outside the padlocked building.
As tribal Bharmaur waits for action, the sealed door stands as a stark reminder of how far good governance still needs to travel.
#TribalNeglect
#VyavasthaParivartan
#BharmaurBlocked
#AccountabilityNow
ED Attaches ₹2.34 Crore Worth Assets in Dehradun in “Emollient Coin” Crypto Scam
Dehradun/Srinagar, June 2:
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Srinagar, has provisionally attached assets worth ₹2.34 crore in connection with a bogus cryptocurrency scam linked to “Emollient Coin.” The action includes deposits in two bank accounts and immovable properties located in Ghati River Valley, Dehradun.
The scam was allegedly being run under the name M/s The Emollient Coin Limited, a UK-based company. Its Indian operations were spearheaded by Naresh Gulia, who is believed to be the promoter of the fraudulent scheme both in India and abroad.
ED’s probe revealed that unsuspecting investors were lured into the fake crypto scheme with promises of high returns, only to be duped of their money.
With Dehradun properties under the scanner, this latest crackdown by the ED sounds a loud alert for citizens of the valley to stay cautious of shady investment offers.
The attachment of assets is part of an ongoing investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and further leads are being pursued to unravel the full scale of the scam.
🔴 Dehradun citizens, be warned – the crypto crooks are in town, and ED’s red flag is real!
#CryptoScamAlert
#DehradunBeware
#EDCrackdown
#FakeCryptoBust
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