Devotees crowd at Kedarnath for darshan; ITBP deployed for management

New Delhi, May 13: An unprecedented number of devotees turned up at the Kedarnath temple, one of the Char Dhams in Uttarakhand. In order to manage the crowd Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) was deployed on May 12 (Friday).

 

 

 

 

Considering the increasing crowds at Kedarnath temple, and the recent misfortunate incidents the ITBP forces have been appointed to manage the crowds. Ever since the yatra began; May 6, 28 tourists en route to the temple have died, due to varied reasons. A meeting of Uttarakhand State govt was called over on May 12, to discuss about the huge influx of tourists visiting the state for the yatra.

 

 

 

 

In the meeting, it was decided that the ITBP will be deployed at the temple for managing the overwhelming crowd. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will also be assisting the temple authorities in the task of crowd management. Spokesperson of ITBP, Vivek Kumar Pandey said, the force has been deployed for security and streamlining darshan at Kedarnath temple after a influx of pilgrims.

 

 

According to ITBP, more than 20,000 devotees are visiting the temple daily and due to the pilgrims' rush places such as Sonprayag, Ukhimath and Kedarnath are packed. Since May 6, more than 1,30,000 pilgrims have so far visited the temple this year. The ITBP has also alerted the disaster management teams in its area. ITBP has also been deployed at the Badrinath temple.