Uttarakhand government moves Supreme Court against High Court order staying Char Dham yatra

The Uttarakhand government has approached the Supreme Court against the High Court's June 28 decision to not allow local pilgrims to participate in Char Dham yatra from July 1.

The state government claimed that the High Court failed to consider that livelihood of villagers around Char Dham --- Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamnotri --- was dependent upon the pilgrimage.

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It pointed out the yatra was allowed only for the districts of Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi, where the positivity rates of Covid-19 were as low as 0.64 per cent, 1.16 per cent and 0.75 per cent, respectively, between June 15 and July 2.

Maintaining that strict compliance of Covid-19 protocols was in place, the state government said due to harsh climate and terrain, the livelihood of people in villages en route Char Dham yatra was largely dependent upon earnings made through tourism and religious rituals.

The four dhams are situated at the altitude of about 12,000–14,000 metres above sea level and the weather in winter dips to between -5 and -20 degrees Celsius.

The plea contended that unlike other religious Hindu shrines likes Vaishno Devi, Kashi Vishvanath in Banaras, Vrindavan or other south Indian shrines, the access to Char Dham is only for a period of roughly six months.

In the remaining six months, the villagers survive through cold, without much of an earning, it added.

The Uttarakhand High Court had pointed out the potential threat of the third Covid-19 wave predicted by the scientific community, saying the victims will be children, and that the loss of a child is not painful only to parents but the nation at large.