Badrinath to be developed as a ‘smart spiritual town’- Tourism minister Satpal Maharaj
Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Saptal Maharaj said that Badrinath Dham will be developed as a smart spiritual hill town. For this, in the first phase, work has started on the Badrinath master plan at a cost of Rs 425 crore.
Kedarnath reconstruction work under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has developed the area in a grand and divine form. He said, a large number of devotees coming from the country and the world are registering for the Chardham Yatra starting from April 22. So far the number of registrations has gone up to 10 lakhs.
The minister said, this is proof that this year’s Char Dham Yatra will break all previous records and set new records. Based on the experience of last year, arrangements are being made for the yatra. He told that since February 21, 3,49,944 pilgrims have registered for Kedarnath, 2,91,537 for Badrinath, 1,61,149 for Yamunotri and 1,66,310 for Gangotri Dham in Chardham Yatra.
Target to complete the ropeway in three years
The minister said, that work on the Chardham all-weather road and the Rishikesh-Karnprayag rail project is going on in full swing. A target has been set to complete the Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib and Sonprayag-Kedarnath ropeways in three years.
The government has approved the ropeway project from Kharsali to Yamunotri to be built with an amount of more than Rs 166 crore. To promote religious tourism, the government has constructed Shakta, Shaiva, Vaishnava, Golju, Gurudwara, Hanuman, Nag Devta, Swami Vivekananda, Mahasu Devta, Narasimha Devta, and Navagraha Devta circuits. Devotees coming to Chardham Yatra can visit these circuits.
