INR 1 lakh accident insurance coverage announced for Char Dham pilgrims

In a recent development, INR 1 lakh accident insurance coverage has been announced for Char Dham (Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri) pilgrims. The insurance sum will be provided to pilgrims in case of an accident.

The move has been announced by United India Insurance Company Ltd. on behalf of Manav Utthan Seva Samiti, which is an institution started by Uttarakhand Tourism and Culture Minister Satpal Maharaj. It has been taken as a welcome gesture for the benefits of the pilgrims.
Reportedly, more than a 100 pilgrims have died since the Char Dham Yatra started on May 3, 2022. A number of them have died of health issues and heart attack has been cited as the prime reason for most deaths as per Uttarakhand Director-General (DG) of Health, Shailja Bhatt.

Besides accident cover, additional 169 doctors will also be deployed on the Char Dham route to boost preparedness for any medical emergency. According to the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee, more than 19 lakhs devotees undertook the yatra this year. Among this, a total of 19,04,253 pilgrims were able to reach the Uttarakhand Char Dham.

Looking at the high number of pilgrims, the government of Uttarakhand had to increase the number of pilgrims by 1000 each to all the four temples. So now, around 16000 devotees can visit Badrinath and 13000 can visit Kedarnath on a daily basis, while 8000 and 5000 people can visit Gangotri and Yamunotri in one day.

The yatra for Gangotri and Yamunotri started after the temples opened their doors in a religious ceremony on May 3; doors of Kedarnath and Badrinath were opened on May 6 and May 8 respectively.