Express News Service
DEHRADUN: The Char Dham Yatra has already registered a record arrival of 45 lakh pilgrims since the opening of the shrine portals. The Badrinath Dham is due to close for winter on November19 while the Kedarnath Yatra concluded on Thursday. Along with the pilgrim rush — after over a year of Covid-19 pandemic lull — has come loads of money.
Guess, who earned the most? The horse-mule and Dandi-Kandi (palanquin) operators, whose business volume stood at Rs 109.98 crore of the total business of Rs 211 crore. It is way above the business volumeof the helicopter companies, Rs 75 crore, during the travel period.
The government earned a revenue of about Rs 8 crore from horse-mule and palanquin (Dandi-Kandi) operators alone, according to the Badri-Kedar temple committee. This time, the administration registered around 15,000 horse and mule owners during the yatra. As many as 5.34 lakh pilgrims visited Kedarnath Dham riding horses and mules. Operators registered for Yamunotri Dham did a business of Rs 21 crore, according to the committee.
“PM Modi during his Uttarakhand visit urged people to spend at least 5% of their yatra budget on buying local products,” Ajayendra Ajay, president of the Badri Kedar Temple Committee, told this paper. “Looking at the profits of businessmen this time, it appears the next yatra would be unprecedented, and the PM’s dream would come true,” said Ajay.
Banshidhar Tiwari, managing director of Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam, told TNIE said the corporation is estimated to earn Rs 50 crore. Taxi traders associated with the yatra have also done business thrice the average income of previous years, said Tiwari.
All hotels, homestays, lodges, and dharamshalas along the yatra route had six-month bookings. “The GMVN has earned Rs 40 crore till August this year, whereas it suffered economic losses in previous years,” said Tiwari.
Sudesh Chandra Jugran, additional chief officer of Rudraprayag district panchayat, said despite the pilgrim rush, awareness about single-use plastic is still lacking, “Besides, a comprehensive action plan is being considered at the administrative level to deal with traffic jams,” said Jugran.
DEHRADUN: The Char Dham Yatra has already registered a record arrival of 45 lakh pilgrims since the opening of the shrine portals. The Badrinath Dham is due to close for winter on November19 while the Kedarnath Yatra concluded on Thursday. Along with the pilgrim rush — after over a year of Covid-19 pandemic lull — has come loads of money.
Guess, who earned the most? The horse-mule and Dandi-Kandi (palanquin) operators, whose business volume stood at Rs 109.98 crore of the total business of Rs 211 crore. It is way above the business volumeof the helicopter companies, Rs 75 crore, during the travel period.
The government earned a revenue of about Rs 8 crore from horse-mule and palanquin (Dandi-Kandi) operators alone, according to the Badri-Kedar temple committee. This time, the administration registered around 15,000 horse and mule owners during the yatra. As many as 5.34 lakh pilgrims visited Kedarnath Dham riding horses and mules. Operators registered for Yamunotri Dham did a business of Rs 21 crore, according to the committee.
“PM Modi during his Uttarakhand visit urged people to spend at least 5% of their yatra budget on buying local products,” Ajayendra Ajay, president of the Badri Kedar Temple Committee, told this paper. “Looking at the profits of businessmen this time, it appears the next yatra would be unprecedented, and the PM’s dream would come true,” said Ajay.
Banshidhar Tiwari, managing director of Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam, told TNIE said the corporation is estimated to earn Rs 50 crore. Taxi traders associated with the yatra have also done business thrice the average income of previous years, said Tiwari.
All hotels, homestays, lodges, and dharamshalas along the yatra route had six-month bookings. “The GMVN has earned Rs 40 crore till August this year, whereas it suffered economic losses in previous years,” said Tiwari.
Sudesh Chandra Jugran, additional chief officer of Rudraprayag district panchayat, said despite the pilgrim rush, awareness about single-use plastic is still lacking, “Besides, a comprehensive action plan is being considered at the administrative level to deal with traffic jams,” said Jugran.
