41 Char Dham Pilgrims Dead in a Month
41 pilgrims die at 4 pilgrimage sites in Uttar Pradesh due to bad weather and poor health of pilgrims.
Chota Char Dham are four different pilgrimage sites in Uttrakhand. They are Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, Badrinath.In the past month alone since the Yatra started 41 pilgrims have died at the four locations. Most deaths were caused by cardiac arrest due to low oxygen levels. The amount of people that have died this season is nearly double that of the same time period last year where 26 people died, with 65 during the 6 month yatra period.
Ravindra Thapliyal, the director general of health said that the biggest issue for pilgrims are that they ignore their own health issues and physical capabilities for the sake of competing this journey even if it kills them. Kedarnath has very low oxygen levels and is dangerous for young children and for the elderly, Dr. Thapliyal has said all pilgrims should meet their family doctor before making the trip and to ensure they are healthy enough to make the trip.
The death toll was spread across all four sites; 23 people died in Kedarnath, 9 in Yamunotri, 5 in Gangotri and 4 in Badrinath. This year saw a very harsh winter nearly double of last year, and the sites were opened a month later in May rather than April.
