Uttarakhand’s Hemkund Sahib yatra to start from today

The annual pilgrimage to Hemkund Sahib, the revered shrine of Sikhs, would start from today, September 18. Referring to this, the Uttarakhand government has specifically noted that not more than 1000 devotees would be allowed to visit the shrine in a day.

Reports have it that the Hemkund Sahib Management Trust has also laid out COVID-19 safety guidelines for the devotees. Referring to this, Narenderjit Singh Bindra, the vice-chairman of the Trust, stated that people suffering from health ailments like heart issues and asthma will not be allowed to take the yatra. Also, he urged people above 60 years and those below 10 years to not undertake the pilgrimage. Further, bathing in the kund (temple pool) will not be allowed at this point of time. The order also asks devotees to wear a face mask and make sure that they sanitise their hands frequently during the yatra.
Pilgrims travelling from other states will be required to register themselves on the Smart City portal. And all pilgrims, except those who have completed 15 days after taking the second vaccine dose, will have to provide a negative RT-PCR test report that is not older than 72 hours of their arrival, to enter the shrine.

Further, the pilgrims travelling to Hemkund Sahib will be required to register themselves at the Rishikesh Gurdwara Trust office.