Uttarakhand CM Dhami Orders Major Redevelopment of Key Temples to Manage Rising Number of Pilgrims

Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami chaired a high-level meeting at the Secretariat in Dehradun on Monday, issuing key directives aimed at enhancing infrastructure and management across some of the state’s most significant religious destinations. The move comes amid a sharp rise in pilgrimage traffic to holy sites including Mansa Devi Temple, Neelkanth Mahadev, Dhari Devi, Purnagiri Temple, Kainchi Dham, and Jageshwar.

According to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), Dhami emphasized the urgent need for planned development, stressing that devotees’ safety, convenience, and spiritual experience must remain a top priority.

“The Chief Minister directed the officials to take immediate action to remove encroachments from the staircase leading to Mansa Devi Temple and widen the approach road,” said the CMO. He further instructed that the carrying capacity of the temple complex be increased, shops be organized, and the darshan system be modernized and streamlined.

In a bid to prevent overcrowding and ensure smoother crowd flow, registration of devotees will be made mandatory across all major temples. “Darshan will be better managed by controlling the number of devotees based on capacity and system limits,” the CMO added.

For effective execution of these plans, Dhami announced the formation of a special coordination committee headed by the Divisional Commissioners. The committee will include District Magistrates, Senior Superintendents of Police, Vice Presidents of respective Development Authorities, and other implementing agencies.