'Sending more devotees to Yamunotri risky': Police urges people to postpone journey

Amid the ongoing Char Dham yatra, the Uttarkashi police warned that sufficient devotees have reached Yamunotri and requested worshippers to postpone their yatra for May 12.

"Today, a sufficient number of devotees have reached Shri Yamunotri Dham as per its capacity. Now, sending more devotees is risky," the Uttarkashi Police posted on X (formally Twitter).

"All the devotees who are going to Yamunotri today, are requested to postpone their Yamunotri Yatra today," the police added.

In another post, the police informed about traffic and security arrangements for the Yamunotri Dham route. It tweeted, "SP Uttarkashi Shri Arpan Yaduvanshi reached Yamuna Valley and took charge of traffic and security to make traffic and police arrangements for the Yamunotri Dham Yatra route..."

The police also informed that for the convenience and safety of the pilgrims, the traffic/journey is being operated through a gate/one-way system on narrow and sensitive routes.

Over 29,000 devotees paid obeisance at Kedarnath Dham on the first day of the pilgrimage of Char Dham Yatra.

"The Char Dham Yatra commenced in Uttarakhand on May 10. For the last two days, all three Dhams including Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri have been bustling. On the first day, a record number of more than 29,000 pilgrims from India and abroad visited Kedarnath Dham," the State Information Department said.

A huge rush of devotees around the hilly approach to Uttarakhand's Yamunotri - a part of Char Dham Yatra along with Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath - led to a massive crowd build-up on the small hillside path on May 11.

Many were seen standing in long queues for hours, a day after the doors of Yamunotri temple in the Garhwal Himalayas were opened for devotees.

Several devotees said that they had been standing on the narrow path for more than two hours and alleged that the authorities had not given any proper thought to safety and crowd management.