On April 22, 2023, the annual pilgrimage known as Char Dham Yatra 2023 began. During the first 65 days of the trip, over 150 pilgrims perished in Uttarakhand. Due to poor weather on the way to Kedarnath and Badrinath, the Char Dham Yatra has currently been halted as a precaution.
Up to this point, 149 deaths have been reported in total, of which 72 were solely reported from Kedarnath. Official statistics show that as of June 26, 28 pilgrims had passed away in Yamunotri, 27 in Badrinath, and 16 in Gangotri. The yatra of Hemkund Sahib, the Sikh shrine whose doors were opened on May 26, also claimed the lives of six pilgrims.
State Disaster Management officials claim that these deaths were brought on by chronic illnesses, and that the majority of the dead were elderly people who had not adapted to the harsh terrain and weather.
According to a Health Department representative, heart attacks were to blame for the majority of the deaths.
Since the start of the yatra season, over 31,78,000 people have, according to government figures, visited the shrines at Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gontri, and Yamunotri. A total of 10,61,889 pilgrims have visited the Kedarnath temple, 9,61,939 have travelled to Badrinath, 5,61,490 have been to Gangotri, and 4,83,340 have travelled to Yamunotri.
