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DEHRADUN: Breaking all records, over 7 lakh pilgrims visited Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand in the first 45 days of this year’s Char Dham Yatra. The number is the highest ever in the recorded history of the Himalayan shrine that witnessed the worst natural calamity in 2013 which claimed thousands of lives. While around 7.32 lakh people visited the shrine during the six-month-long yatra in 2018, this year, the number has already touched 7.35 in the first 45 days.

In fact, there were some days when the shrine recorded a footfall of over 36,000, which is also a first. The highest footfall was witnessed on June 7 when 36,179 devotees offered prayers in Kedarnath, followed by June 10, when 36,021 people visited the temple. Authorities, meanwhile, said that the credit for such a high turnout goes to PM Modi, whose frequent visits to the temple have made people follow the same path.

CEO of Badri-Kedar Temple Committee BD Singh said, “We still have five more months to go. We are hopeful that this year footfall will cross 15 lakh by the end of the yatra in October.”

BL Rana, general manager of Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam, also gave the credit for the high turnout to the PM. “Kedarnath is very close to the Prime Minister’s heart and he closely monitors all development works in the area. The demand for the meditation cave has also increased among the people after the PM’s visit,” he said.

According to official records, in 2013, around 3.33 lakh people visited Kedarnath and just after the flash floods, the number decreased to 40,922 in 2014. While, 1.54 lakh devotees visited the shrine in 2015, the number increased to 3.09 lakh in 2016. In 2017, 4.71 lakh pilgrims worshipped in the shrine and the number increased to 7.32 lakh in 2018.

