Uttarakhand govt comes up with guidelines for Char Dham yatra vehicles

The Uttarakhand government has come up with guidelines for the vehicles coming for the Char Dham yatra scheduled to start in April, officials said.

The state transport department has come out with guidelines for the vehicles with several dos and don’ts with the objective of ensuring the safety of the pilgrims during the yatra season.

The RTO officials said that the department is deliberating on every aspect to make the yatra for pilgrims safer and more convenient.

They said hoardings will be placed on every bus stop taxi stand, check posts, and major stopovers highlighting the precautions that need to be taken while commuting in the hilly terrain of the state.

This year, for commercial vehicles filling trip cards with the details of the commuters will be mandatory in addition to the green cards that will be given to the vehicles that pass the fitness test while all the travel and tour operators have been asked to employ experienced drivers who are skilled at driving in the hilly terrain.

Shailesh Tiwari enforcement officer, Dehradun RTO region, which comprises Uttarkashi, Haridwar, Tehri, and Dehradun districts said, “The department is planning to deploy mobile task force teams and install automatic number plate recorders (ANPR) linked with the Vahan application at 10 check posts right from the entry point at Dehradun in the region which will collect the complete details of the vehicles along with recording any over speeding and in case of any violation the challan will be sent to the homes of the violators.”

He said in addition to increasing the number of check posts, awareness drives will also be carried out through posters, banners, and hoardings that will be put up at all taxi, bus stands, railway stations and important vantage points in the region highlighting the dos and don’t’s required during the Char Dham yatra. “Currently, the trip card system is mandatory for commercial vehicles, but the department is planning to make it mandatory for private vehicles from outside the state so that it has the complete details of persons travelling in the vehicles,” said Tiwari.

It will be mandatory for all commercial vehicles to have first-aid boxes, fire-fighting equipment, wooden planks and ropes. Also, each commercial vehicle’s brakes, gears, wheels and steering will be checked before it embarks on the Char Dham yatra. The travel operators have been directed to ensure additional drivers are on standby and ensure that the drivers take rest after long drives of over 60 to 100 kilometres. Only skilled drivers will be allowed to drive on the Char Dham route, and it would be mandatory for all commercial vehicles to have a hill endorsement license along with a driving license to ply in the hilly region.

The RTO officials have been given the direction to act against the drivers found driving in a drunken state.

The department will also conduct several awareness campaigns to create awareness through videos highlighting the precautions to be taken during hill driving such as blowing horns at bends, parking vehicles at safe places away from any landslide hotspots, and avoiding driving vehicles during bad weather conditions on Char Dham yatra route.

Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held a meeting on road safety last week, in which he directed the officials to take strict steps to curb road accidents in the state, especially on the busy Char Dham routes.

Anoop Nautiyal, Dehradun-based social activist, said, “ The focus of the authorities should be on practical, doable, and actionable interventions that can minimise accidents, fatalities, and injuries during the Char Dham yatra.”

“While in 2022 we had a record number of pilgrims visiting Char Dham yatra but another record of more than 300 deaths including the death of pilgrims on pedestrian routes was also set which is a cause of concern. Considering the geographical terrain it becomes difficult to provide immediate relief to affected persons in road accidents in the hilly terrain, but the authorities should also try to ensure that the Golden rule in such incidents of rushing the injured to the nearest hospital within an hour period is followed to check fatalities,” he said.

Last year in June, a major road accident occurred at Damta in Uttarkashi when a bus fell into a deep gorge resulting in the death of 26 pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh.

The residents of villages along the Char Dham route from Uttarkashi district said that the major cause of the accident last year was the absence of crash barriers, and the government should ensure that such crash barriers are installed all along the Char Dham route.

Sobhan Singh Rana, president of Yamuna Valley Hotel Association said, “ The PWD department is installing crash barriers at the site of last year’s accident, but such crash barriers are required all along the Char Dham route and should be installed as per the laid down guidelines prescribed under road safety measures.

Rajesh Pant, executive engineer PWD national highway division, Barkot in Uttarkashi district, said, “ Around ₹7 crore was sanctioned for crash barriers on the route last year and we have installed crash barriers at several places near Barnigad, Naugaon, Yamuna Bridge and at last year’s accidental site near Damta. We will be sending a proposal for installing more such crash barriers on the route after compiling an estimate.”