2nd day of Chardham Yatra : Massive crowd on narrow 4 km stretch leading to Yamunotri

No accident reported

Overcrowded stretch towards Yamunotri
Courtesy : Jagran English

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) – Following the commencement of Chardham Yatra on 10th May, a significant influx of devotees was observed on the 2nd day, with 22,000 pilgrims reaching Kedarnath and 5,277 reaching Gangotri. However, at Yamunotri, a crowd of around 8,000 devotees gathered on a narrow stretch of road, designed to accommodate only 1,000-2,000 people at a time. Despite the congestion, no stampede occurred, indicating a fortunate outcome given the lack of adequate planning by the administration. Consequently, on the 3rd day, i.e., on 12th May, authorities urged devotees to refrain from visiting Yamunotri due to overcrowding.

On the second day of the Chardham Yatra, there was a huge crowd on Yamunotri’s Chinchola 4 km route.

Fortunately no mishaps occurred !

This reveals that the administration did not plan for crowd management.

Due to this incident, on the third day, that is May 12, the… pic.twitter.com/V0D2mnjttL

— Sanatan Prabhat (@SanatanPrabhat) May 12, 2024

The route from Janaki Chatti to the Yamunotri Temple, situated at an altitude of 10,797 feet above sea level, was densely crowded, flanked by a mountain on one side and a deep trench on the other. Despite adverse weather conditions including rain and bitter cold, the crowd comprised individuals of all ages, including children, elderly, women, and hundreds of mules. The precarious situation persisted for nearly 24 hours, with the potential for a single mule straying to endanger the lives of thousands. Eventually, the State Disaster Response Team intervened to manage the situation. Video footage capturing the chaotic rush has circulated widely on social media platforms.