my uttarakhand news Bureau
Dehradun, 28 Nov: Social Development for Communities (SDC) Foundation, a Dehradun-based public-interest organisation working extensively on climate change, sustainable development and environment in Uttarakhand, has released its preliminary “Factsheet on Char Dham Yatra 2025”. The fact sheet compiles the data on pilgrimage days, footfall distribution, highest footfall days, and zero-pilgrim days across the five major pilgrimage sites Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, Yamunotri, and Hemkund Sahib for the recently concluded Char Dhan Yatra 2025.
The Foundation announced that a comprehensive and detailed Char Dham Yatra 2025 Report will be released in the coming weeks. This aligns with SDC’s consistent approach over the last several years, including its “Pathways to Pilgrimage” report released for the 2024 Char Dham Yatra.
Presenting the factsheet, Anoop Nautiyal, Founder of SDC Foundation, said that the 2025 Yatra recorded 51,06,346 pilgrims, compared to 48,01,167 pilgrims in 2024, an increase of 3,05,179 pilgrims, reflecting the continuing high spiritual and cultural significance of the pilgrimage. The duration of the Yatra this year ranged from 139 days at Hemkund Sahib, 175 days at Kedarnath, 176 days at Gangotri, 177 days at Yamunotri to 206 days at Badrinath.
While the overall number of Yatra days in 2024 and 2025 remained largely similar, Badrinath witnessed a notable increase in its duration this year, with the shrine remaining open for 206 days in 2025 compared to 190 days in 2024; an addition of 16 extra pilgrimage days.
The highest single-day footfall was recorded at Kedarnath on 2 May 2025, when 30,154 pilgrims visited the shrine. It was emphasised by the Foundation that increasing numbers alone cannot be treated as an indicator of success and that the true measure of an effective Yatra lies in how safely, sustainably and efficiently it is managed.
One of the most concerning trends highlighted in the factsheet is the unusually high number of zero-pilgrim days and extremely low-pilgrim days caused mainly by weather disturbances, landslides and disaster-related closures. The Char Dham shrines in 2025 collectively recorded 86 days with zero pilgrims, 67 days with only 1–500 pilgrims and 80 days with 501–1000 pilgrims. Gangotri alone experienced 35 Zero-Pilgrim Days, while Yamunotri faced 38 such days, indicating frequent and significant disruptions.
According to SDC Foundation, this pattern underlines the urgent need for strengthened disaster-mitigation systems, quicker road restoration, improved information management and more resilient planning. They added that such volatility in daily footfall must be viewed as a serious operational challenge rather than an administrative inconvenience.
Drawing from its in-depth Char Dham Yatra 2024 report, which offered extensive assessments and recommendations, SDC stressed that many of the systemic issues diagnosed last year continue to persist. Anoop Nautiyal reiterated that the state must shift its focus from celebrating record pilgrim numbers to strengthening safety norms, adhering to carrying-capacity principles, improving aero safety systems, investing in medical and emergency response systems, simplifying the registration process, enhancing communication on weather and route conditions, and ensuring that local communities benefit from the Yatra economy. He added that long-term thinking, collaborative governance and sustained stakeholder engagement are essential if the Char Dham Yatra is to remain both spiritually fulfilling and environmentally secure.
Nautiyal concluded by stating that SDC Foundation will soon release a detailed and comprehensive Char Dham Yatra 2025 Report, expanding on the initial findings shared in the factsheet. He emphasised that only a coordinated effort involving the government, scientific institutions, local businesses, communities and all stakeholders can ensure that the Yatra remains safe, sustainable and resilient for the years to come.
He acknowledged the vital contribution of Praveen Upreti of the Foundation, whose rigorous daily data compilation and tracking across official Char Dham Yatra numbers made the preparation of this factsheet possible.
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