Overview
- Uttarakhand will enforce a complete ban on mobile phones and cameras inside all four Char Dham temple premises from this year's pilgrimage season.
- Officials said the move follows darshan-management problems reported last season, when more than 50 lakh devotees visited the shrines.
- Pilgrims must deposit devices in cloakrooms to be set up by the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee and may use designated photo points outside the interiors.
- Specific limits include no phones or cameras beyond the Singh Dwar at Badrinath and a prohibition on phones at Kedarnath, with strict enforcement promised.
- After a review meeting, authorities ordered fast-tracked tenders and debris clearance by NHAI, PWD and BRO within a month, and planned round-the-clock essential services, with opening dates pending and the yatra likely in April.