Harish Rawat takes stock of Char Dham Yatra amenities

Dehradun, May 16 (IANS) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Monday took stock of the amenities for tourists and pilgrims coming for the annual Char Dham Yatra.

The chief minister flew to the Kedarnath shrine in the foothills of the Himalayas on Sunday and interacted with the pilgrims and took their feedback on facilities being provided to them.

He summoned officials on Monday and directed them to rectify the problems.

Rawat, who was recently reinstated as chief minister by the Supreme Court, also told officials that the footfalls for the Char Dham Yatra -- Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri -- were likely to go up this season and hence all facilities should be up to the mark.

Instructions were also issued to the concerned departments to get 1,200 more tents for pilgrims at the Kedarnath shrine.

Manpower at registration counters, police personnel on the routes also will be enhanced, the chief minister said.

The district magistrate of Rudraprayag has been asked to make the necessary arrangements and report about them to the chief secretary within four days.

Officials also apprised the chief minister that 65 specialist doctors, 54 doctors along with pharamacists, 59 water tanks and eight transformers have already been deployed on the yatra route.