DEHRADUN: The spate of recent accidents and landslides on the Char Dham yatra circuit illustrate how the fragile mountainous area is not being able to keep up with the pressure that is increasingly being put on it. Hordes of travellers, mainly families often with small children in tow – all in holiday mode -- are a common sight on the yatra route as against the aged and spiritually inclined who used to undertake the yatra earlier.The infrastructure that has been created in and around the pilgrimage sites to cater to the holidaymakers – such as luxury hotels with central heating, and fancy eateries – grimly accentuates how the thrust of the yatra has changed over the years. Result: the region’s carrying capacity, designed by nature as being limited, is being subjected to undue stress.Lokesh Ohri, Dehradun-based anthropologist and heritage expert, said the centuries-old yatra, long considered a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage performed by the devout, has undeniably transformed into a package tour jamboree attracting people who are more holidaymakers than pilgrims.“Earlier people would trek barefoot to Kedarnath from Rambara (a distance of almost 14 km) while being on a fast, which meant no litter or solid waste on the way. But now, the entire thrust is to flaunt the number of people coming to these destinations by the government. The hordes that come to these sites treat it as just another holiday destination,” he said.The strain on the carrying capacity of the region is evident. There are around 500 local people staying in the townships in and around the Kedarnath shrine in the off-season months, but with the start of the season the numbers jump up to several lakhs. In June 2013, when the flash floods struck Kedarnath, an estimated 20,000 people were visiting the area daily. This figure is now expected to have doubled.Till date, as per government sources, a total of 8.03 lakh visitors have come for the Char Cham yatra in less than one month since the sites opened for the summer season. Of these, according to tourism minister Satpal Maharaj, 2 lakh have visited Kedarnath -- which is almost 50,000 more than last year.Ohri said surging number of visitors, which is showcased as an achievement, doesn’t mean much for the local people who derive limited benefit from the influx. “Most visitors don’t stay in the chatties (halting stations) dotted on the trekking route which could have benefited the locals. The government is trying to do everything fast and quick in the Char Dhams by setting up a railway network and constructing an all-weather road. Instead of such aggressive ideas which are not ecologically sustainable, the thrust should be on holistic development of other sites since many areas in the state with a lot of tourism potential are virtually untapped.”Maharaj said the tourism department is chalking out plans to promote “all the prominent Shiva, Vaishnav and Shakti temples for religious tourism in the state.” He added, “I have also directed officials to regulate visitors’ flow for Char Dham sites.”Sunder Lal Bahuguna, renowned environmentalist known for pioneering the Chipko movement in the hills, said the solution may lie in developing alternate means of transportation to reach these shrines. “ I have long been advocating building ropeways instead of road network for Kedarnath and other areas which are lush with forests and wildlife. The ropeways will minimise rush of people on the roads and the pollution emitted by the vehicles and put lesser strain on the ecology of the area.”