This year, the Char Dham Yatra started on May 3, on the day of Akshaya Tritiya.
The Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand is seeing a significant increase in pilgrims this year. As lakhs of devotees are visiting Char Dham, which reopened to pilgrims after a two-year hiatus, the sacred sites' routes are turning into a vast garbage dump. They are littered with all types of waste, including plastic, according to news agency ANI.
ANI tweeted a photo of many tents spread across large swaths of land with majestic snow-covered mountains in the background. However, the area is completely littered with discarded plastic objects such as bags and bottles, as well as other waste materials, giving them the appearance of a huge dump.
The news agency captioned the photo, "Heaps of plastic waste and garbage pile up on the stretch leading to Kedarnath, as devotees throng for Char Dham Yatra."
In a subsequent tweet, ANI quoted Prof MS Negi, the head of the department of geography, Garhwal Central University, as saying, “The way plastic garbage has piled up in a sensitive place like Kedarnath is hazardous for our ecology. It'll lead to erosion which can cause landslides. We must keep in mind the tragedy of 2013 and remain careful.”
Prof Negi was referring to the cloudburst in Uttarakhand in June 2013 that caused disastrous floods and landslides, making it one of India's worst natural disasters. The news agency also quoted Prof MC Nautiyal, the director of HAPPRC, as saying, “The tourist inflow has risen manifold due to which plastic garbage has increased as we don't have proper sanitation facilities.”
The Char Dham Yatra didn't take place for the past two years due of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, it started on May 3, on the day of Akshaya Tritiya, after the Gangotri and Yamunotri temples in Uttarkashi district were opened to worshipers.