At least 38 pilgrims have died due to health-related reasons in the first 26 days of the Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand. The pilgrimage began on April 19, with Kedarnath recording the highest fatalities.
Uttarakhand Police rescued a group of Char Dham tourists after they were allegedly harassed and physically assaulted by their travel guide near a food joint in Pauri Garhwal. The Delhi-based group had booked their pilgrimage through an online agency and faced issues with the guide's behaviour throughout their journey.
Around 2 million commercial and domestic LPG cylinders will be required to meet demand from hotels, restaurants, and roadside eateries during the upcoming Char Dham Yatra 2026, according to Prajapati Nautiyal, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) for the Char Dham Yatra Administration Organisation.
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The drive begins just days ahead of the Char Dham Yatra in the state.
After chairing an emergency meeting with senior officials to discuss the situation, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that heli services on the Char Dham route will remain suspended for two days, as the weather is bad and the safety of the passengers is the government's top priority.
'This is probably why the late General Bipin Rawat, who hails from the Garhwal Himalaya, said that the existing roads are fine with the army.'
A landslide on the Kedarnath route in Uttarakhand killed two pilgrims and injured six, while heavy rain led to the temporary suspension of the Char Dham and Hemkund Sahib pilgrimages.
The famous Char Dham pilgrimage began on Wednesday with the reopening of the Gangotri and the Yamnotri shrines in the Garhwal Himalayas after a period of six months.
Ending the line at Pipalkoti will mean the army will have to cover a longer distance to the China border by road than it would have needed to had the rail link gone up to Joshimath.
'From environmental impact assessment to forest clearances, this has turned out to be an unscientific road-widening project with catastrophic consequences.'
Soon after the crash on Sunday, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held an emergency meeting and asked senior officials to prepare a strict SOP (standard operating procedure) for heli services in the state, making a thorough check of the technical condition of the choppers mandatory.
A Rs 195 crore-package was announced by the government on Friday for reconstruction of the 'Char Dham' pilgrimage circuit, which was badly affected by the Uttarakhand rain disaster.
Citing the example of last year, he said many pilgrims who came for the yatra from rural areas of Uttar Pradesh had to return from Rishikesh and Haridwar as they had not registered in advance for it.
A Border Roads Organisation team will be stationed in Joshimath to monitor the yatra on a day-to-day basis and ensure immediate treatment of cracks on roads or any other problem that might arise, the chief minister said.
The Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee has formed a four-member panel to investigate alleged irregularities in pilgrims' offerings and donations at Badrinath Dham. The allegations, which went viral on social media, have sparked political controversy in Uttarakhand, with the Congress demanding strict action. The inquiry will examine CCTV footage and statements, with a report due in seven days.
Resumption of 'Char Dham yatra' after a gap of two Covid-marred years is a welcome development for thousands of people whose livelihoods depend on it, but the death of 78 pilgrims on way to the Himalayan temples in less than a month is causing concern.
Two wanted criminals from Bihar were arrested in Rishikesh following a police encounter. The accused, identified as Aamir and Anwarul Haq, sustained bullet injuries and were wanted for a recent shooting in Rishikesh and a fatal robbery in Bihar. The arrests occurred during a vehicle checking drive for the Char Dham Yatra.
Two wanted criminals from Bihar were arrested in Rishikesh following a police encounter. The accused, identified as Aamir and Anwarul Haq, sustained bullet injuries and were wanted for a recent shooting in Rishikesh and a fatal robbery in Bihar. The arrests occurred during a vehicle checking drive for the Char Dham Yatra.
Film actress Sara Ali Khan's entry to Badrinath and Kedarnath temple complexes is contingent on submitting an affidavit declaring her faith in Sanatan Dharma, according to the Badri-Kedar Temple Committee chairman.
An employee of the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) has been suspended following a preliminary inquiry into alleged irregularities in the management of donations at Badrinath Dham. Both the BKTC and the Uttarakhand government have launched separate investigations into the matter, which gained attention after social media allegations and a formal complaint. The government committee is expected to submit its report within 15 days.
The weather office has forecast intense spells of rain at isolated places in Nainital, Champawat, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Dehradun, Tehri and Pauri districts on Sunday.
Heavy rainfall has disrupted major pilgrimages in Uttarakhand, including the Kedarnath route and the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra, prompting the IMD to issue red and orange alerts for extremely heavy rainfall across several districts.
This marks a significant step towards legally safeguarding the cultural and spiritual identity of one of Hinduism's most revered pilgrimage centres.
A nearly 72-hour standoff at the Nagarasu gurdwara in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag ended on Tuesday evening as a group of Nihangs holed up at the shrine vacated the premises after talks with a delegation from Punjab, officials said.
'There is a clear relationship between the Char Dham road widening and these landslides.' 'The situation has further worsened with the massive influx of tourists whose number are running into several lakhs per month.' 'No parameters have been laid down to control tourist inflow and the result is that the Char Dham yatra has seen a sharp escalation in accidents and loss of lives.'
'Travellers are considering safer and more stable destinations.'
According to a statement from the Rudraprayag police, the landslide was triggered by continuous heavy rainfall, which caused large amounts of debris and stones to fall onto the trekking route, blocking and damaging the walkway to Kedarnath Dham.
The 4.5 kilometre-long Silkyara tunnel project in Uttarakhand, which is part of the central government's strategic 900-km 'Char Dham Yatra All Weather Road', will continue after the necessary safety audit and repair of the broken structure, a senior road ministry official said on Wednesday.
Refusing to buy the argument, the bench of Chief Justice R S Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma said if the Devasthanam Board decides not to permit live streaming of the rituals on this ground, it will have to quote a line from the scripture in support of the argument.
Activists from Himalayan states condemn the arrest of Sonam Wangchuk, demanding his release and supporting the call for statehood and inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. They also warn of a larger crisis unfolding across the Himalayan region due to climate change and poor governance.
The recent helicopter crash near Kedarnath, in which seven lives were lost, has proven yet again that aviation regulatory authorities have not learnt lessons from similar air mishaps in the challenging Kedar valley and have done little to improve flying conditions.
Five pilgrims and a pilot onboard a helicopter had a narrow escape when the aircraft on its way to Kedarnath made an emergency landing on the highway in Rudraprayag district on Saturday after developing a technical snag during take-off, officials said.
The chief priest of the biggest Hanuman temple in Pakistan, Sant Ram Nath Mishra, has said that the Pakistani Army has always supported Hindus in their struggle against extremist groups in the country. Mishra, who is currently on a visit to Hindu religious sites across India, recounted the struggle of the Panch Mukhi Hanuman Mandir in Karachi, which was encroached upon over the decades but was restored following a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2018. He said that the Pakistani Army and government swiftly implemented the Supreme Court's decision to return the temple land, despite opposition from hardline groups. Mishra also highlighted the need for easing visa restrictions between India and Pakistan, allowing Hindus on both sides to visit religious sites in each other's countries.
Justice Surya Kant is set to become the 53rd Chief Justice of India, bringing extensive experience and a record of significant verdicts on key issues.
Additionally, rates in the aviation sector are also expected to increase due to huge claim outgo in the Air India crash.
'...they always address problems superficially, never tackling root causes.' 'Currently, the policy response will focus on immediate relief -- getting people to safety, providing facilities, clearing debris.' 'This is necessary, but once immediate relief operations end, everything returns to 'normal' without addressing underlying vulnerabilities.'
Twelve rat-hole mining experts are involved in the horizontal excavation through the last 10 or 12-metre stretch of debris of the collapsed portion of the under-construction tunnel on Uttarakhand's Char Dham route.
Terming it a "very sorry state of affairs", the apex court said the state was just trying to find some excuse or the other.
Tour operators in Odisha are set to suffer losses as tourists and pilgrims have started cancelling their bookings to various destinations in north India following the devastating floods in Uttarakhand.
