A decision of the Uttarakhand state government to allow the Char Dham yatra in a limited manner was stayed for four weeks by the Uttarakhand High Court(HC) on Monday. In its order, the court took note of the experts who believe that organizing the Kumbh Mela in the state in April led to a massive rise in cases across the country during the second wave of COVID-19. Earlier on 25 June, the state cabinet took a decision to allow the Char Dham Yatra for locals living in Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi districts from 1 July.
The order was passed by a bench comprising of Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma which was hearing a case related to the health care infrastructure of Uttarakhand. In its order, the court touched upon multiple issues including the devastation of the second wave, insufficient vaccination and laxity shown by district administrations.
According to the court, “If the Char Dham Yatra were permitted, we would again be inviting a catastrophe”. The judges noted that over 3 lakh people died during the second wave in April & May while shortages of oxygen, beds and medicines resulted in a collapse of the healthcare system.
Expressing concern over the rise of the Delta Plus variant of the virus, the court said that even 100% vaccination is not guaranteed to save people from the new variant.
The two-judge bench also slammed the administrations of Haridwar and Rishikesh for their failure to implement the SOPs during the Kumbh Mela. The order called the cabinet’s decision on Char Dham a violation of Article 21, Articles 39(e),39(f) and Article 47 of the Indian constitution. It also goes against the warnings issued by experts and the centre regarding the third wave of COVID-19 infections, it added.
For the benefit of pilgrims, the high court ordered the Uttarakhand government to live stream the ceremonies carried out at the Char Dham temples. Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand government indicated that it may move to the Supreme Court against the HC judgement.
