The centre on Monday has announced a strong health support centre and emergency infrastructure for the Char Dham yatra in Uttarakhand. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in an official statement said that the infrastructure is going to be three-layer structure to ensure that the pilgrims are been provided with the best healthcare services during their Char Dham journey. The statement from the health ministry came after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya met the Uttarakhand Health Minister Dhan Singh Rawat in a meeting, who requested for the support from the centre for developing a health and emergency infrastructure for the pilgrims who come for Char Dham yatra every year in lakh of numbers.Rawat notified Mandaviya about the health challenges that are faced by the pilgrims during their arduous journey, and also about the number of deaths of pilgrims in past few years, due to health emergencies such as strokes, etc., he also added that many of these deaths were due to multiple chronic conditions in the patients. Mandaviya assured full support from the central government and stated “the best possible healthcare and health emergency infrastructure will be provided for the visiting pilgrims.” In order to ensure that the treatment is started on the way to health centres, a strong network of advance ambulances and stroke vans is planned, these ambulances will be sanctioned at the various places along the yatra route.According to the official statement, Post graduate medical students from across the country will be deployed as the first medical assistance to the patients, as a part of strengthening the health infrastructure. Mandaviya added that this experience will act as a skilling and the capacity building exercise for the PG students. Beside this, drones will also be used in transportation of the medicines in the yatra route. While giving an example, he added that drones had been successfully used for transportation of Covid-19 vaccines in the north-east regions.The Garhwal Himalayas are home to the Char Dham, which includes Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri. It was also mentioned that recently, AIIMS-Rishikesh began a drone service to distribute and pick up medications. “A solid referral back-end system is being built with AIIMS-Rishikesh, Doon Medical College and Srinagar Medical College acting as tertiary nodes for specialised care.” According to the Union health minister, this will give pilgrims a comprehensive clinical treatment. According to the statement, these measures will be backed up by citizen-friendly communication and awareness campaigns that include websites and portals that inform pilgrims about weather forecasts, the value of acclimatisation, the locations of medical facilities along the route, call centre information, pre-yatra screening procedures, and emergency support numbers, among other things.All about Char Dham YatraUttarakhand, is also known as Devbhoomi or Land of Gods, which is home to many temples and which welcome the pilgrims whole year. In hindi, char means Four and Dham refers to the religious destinations. The devotees from across the country visit Uttarakhand as it is a pilgrimage to four holy sites, Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. The high-altitude shrines remain shut for six months every year, opening in summers and closing on the onset of winters. It is also believed that one should do the Char Dham yatra clock wise. It is also said that this yatra is as divine as it is arduous and fulfil the soul.Char Dham yatra pilgrims to share medical historyThe Uttarakhand officials have asked to collect the data of the medical history of the pilgrims who will register themselves for the Char Dham yatra, which will commence from April 22, this year. The move has been taken in to the consideration after the rise in the death toll crossed 300 in 2022. This process of collecting medical data will help in providing the better health services to the pilgrims at the time of need. The decision has been taken by chef secretary SS Sandhu, during the meeting held at the secretariat in Dehradun last week. The state government has also sent a proposal to the centre for proving them with an air ambulance facility to airlift the ailing pilgrims to the nearest health centres on the route to yatra.
