kedarnath dham yatra 2024: This year's pilgrimage to Kedarnath Dham has been historic and inspirational in many ways. Despite the natural disaster, there was no decrease in the faith of the devotees, rather their courage and religious spirit faced the difficulties. The state administration and local authorities paid special attention to the safety and management of facilities for the pilgrims even in difficult circumstances, which provided great relief to the devotees.

Despite the disaster, a large number of devotees came for the pilgrimage this year, and this number was more than 16 lakh 52 thousand. Rudraprayag District Magistrate Saurabh Gaharwar said that even after the disaster in July, due to the promptness of the administration, the Yatra route was made operational in less than a month. More than 15 thousand pilgrims stranded on the Yatra route and Kedarnath Dham were taken to a safe place. Even in this difficult situation, the faith of the devotees remained unwavering and they came to the Dham and had darshan of Baba.

Horses and mules were used a lot
in this Yatra season, due to which the related business also got huge profits. Nodal Officer Yatra and Chief Development Officer Dr. GS Khati told that more than 4 lakh 79 thousand pilgrims visited Baba Kedarnath with the help of horses and mules, due to which a total business of 1 billion 31 crore 17 lakh rupees was done. Out of this, revenue of more than 7 crores was received, which boosted the local economy and also created employment opportunities.

Devotees arrived from abroad as well;
heli services also played a major role in this pilgrimage. District Tourism Officer Rahul Chaubey said that more than 1,28,000 pilgrims traveled through heli services. Heli companies did a business of around 1,100,000 rupees during this period, which proves that it has become a popular and time-saving option for the pilgrims. In this year's pilgrimage, devotees arrived not only from different states of the country but also from abroad. This time, 249 foreign devotees also had darshan of Baba at Kedarnath Dham.

 Health services were taken care of
during the yatra. According to Chief Medical Officer in charge Dr. Vimal Singh Gusain, more than 1 lakh 98 thousand pilgrims were examined and treated during this yatra season. Out of these, more than 1 lakh 57 thousand were men and more than 41 thousand were women. Despite difficult conditions, more than 15 thousand people were given oxygen and many devotees were also screened. In emergency situations, 218 people were referred to higher centers by ambulance and 90 devotees by heli service.