Delhi pilgrim dies during Yamunotri trek, Char Dham yatra death toll crosses 40
Dehradun: A 46-year-old man from Delhi's Mandoli area died of cardiopulmonary arrest on Tuesday while on the Yamunotri yatra. Shiv Kumar collapsed while taking a selfie around 1km from the Yamunotri shrine.
His death marks the 43rd fatality on the Char Dham yatra, which began on April 30.
Kumar's family and a health team took him to a community health centre in Janki Chatti, where doctors declared him dead. A school bus driver by profession, Kumar had completed the Char Dham yatra for two consecutive years. This year, he was undertaking the pilgrimage for the third time with five family members, said his nephew Lavkesh Kumar.
Yamunotri was the first stop on their journey.
Health officials attributed his death to cardiopulmonary arrest, likely triggered by strenuous trekking conditions and low oxygen levels near the Yamunotri shrine, which sits at an altitude of roughly 10,800 ft in the Garhwal Himalayas.
With the rise in pilgrim footfall, there has been a steady increase in health-related deaths during the annual pilgrimage. The Kedarnath trek, which requires pilgrims to walk at least 16km uphill, has seen at least 20 fatalities.
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Ten pilgrims have died on the Yamunotri route, followed by eight in Gangotri and five in Badrinath, bringing the total number of deaths due to health complications to 43, according to district authorities.
Officials deployed on the yatra route said stricter enforcement is needed in the plains, where some pilgrims "intentionally" bypass health checks to continue their journey. By the time health screenings are conducted in the hills, many have already entered high-risk zones, limiting the effectiveness of the process.
"Most fatalities have occurred due to cardiac or respiratory issues, often triggered by pre-existing comorbidities that worsen in the region's harsh conditions, as all the shrines are above 10,000 ft. Like the Amarnath Yatra, we need mandatory health criteria to prevent such tragedies. At Amarnath, checks are strictly enforced due to security reasons. But since the Char Dham yatra doesn't face such threats, it remains open to all.
This open access, however, needs to be reconsidered," said an official from the Char Dham district administration.
Since April 30, approximately 349,111 pilgrims have undergone screenings at various Health Screening Centres (HSCs) and Medical Relief Points (MRPs) along the route. Of these, nearly 15,000 were identified with comorbidities, according to data from the Uttarakhand health department.
"Pilgrims who believe that dying during the journey guarantees salvation (moksha) should be gently counselled to prioritise their health and aim for a safe pilgrimage.
This approach would significantly help reduce the death toll," said a senior doctor on yatra duty.
Health staff have counselled over 3,000 high-risk individuals flagged for comorbidities and nearly two dozen were convinced to return to their home states and attempt the pilgrimage later, once their health improved, according to the state health department data.
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