Dehradun: Authorities in Uttarakhand have announced a complete ban on mobile phones and cameras inside the Char Dham temple complexes from this year.
Garhwal commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey announced the decision after a meeting with district magistrates, senior superintendents of police, and other departmental officials from concerned districts.
Explaining the rationale, Pandey said use of mobile phones and cameras within the temple premises had been causing disruptions and difficulties during darshan.
The Char Dham Yatra is a sac
red pilgrimage, Pandey said. This move will ensure sanctity inside the premises, reduce disruptions, and improve quality of darshan for devotees.
“Devotees should submit their mobile phones and cameras before entering the temple for darshan, and after leaving the temple, they can take their photos and videos with the temple in the background,” the Garhwal commissioner told PTI.
The Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee has been directed to arrange facilities within the temple complexes for the safe custody of devotees’ mobile phones, cameras and other gadgets.
Pandey informed that more than 50 lakh devotees visited the four sacred temples of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath during the last pilgrimage season.
The state government is trying to make the Char Dham Yatra smoother and more convenient for pilgrims this year, while ensuring better crowd management and maintaining the spiritual atmosphere of the holy sites.