Dehradun, Apr 6 (PTI) The Centre for Environment and Development has asked Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami for a plan to make next year’s Nanda Raj Jat Yatra less prone to disasters and more environment-friendly.
The centre was founded by Ramon Magsaysay Award winner and renowned environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt.
Om Prakash Bhatt, the managing trustee of the Gopeshwar-based centre, in a letter to Dhami, said that the journey, which starts from Kansuwa village in Gairsain area of the district, takes 22 days to complete and passes through villages like Nauti.
Its last four stops are Baidni-Gairolipatal, Patar-Nachaunia, Shilasamudra, and Chadaniyaghat, located in Bugyals (grasslands located in the high Himalayan region) and uninhabited areas.
This journey takes place once in 12 years, with the last Raj Jat Yatra held in 2014.
Bhatt, recalling the 2014 yatra, wrote in the letter, “In the last four stages of the yatra, the number of devotees had reached thousands. More than 60,000 devotees reached a small area of Baidni-Bugyal in a single day, due to which the arrangements made by the state government were completely shaken.” Bhatt said that due to the heavy crowd, the beautiful Bugyal of Baidni and the vegetation was destroyed and entire stretch was strewn with heaps of plastic and garbage.
Due to a lack of information, the pilgrims who participated in the yatra defiled the herbs found in the high Himalayan region, including Brahma Kamal, which is in the endangered category.
“These stages of the high Himalayas are extremely sensitive in nature and are also risky from the point of view of rare vegetation and wildlife as well as disaster. To make this world famous yatra of Nanda Devi Raj Jat safe from the point of view of disaster and environment-friendly, a coordinated action plan should be made in time and work should be done accordingly,” the environmentalist urged the Uttarakhand CM.
Bhatt also suggested an assessment of the carrying capacity of the last four stops on a “scientific” basis, registration of participants, except the traditional groups, on the lines of the Char Dham Yatra, and extending the duration of the yatra if number of participants reach too many.
Guidelines for the protection of wildlife and flora present in these areas for the pilgrims coming on the yatra was also suggested. PTI DPT VN VN
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