<p>The Uttarakhand government is getting ready to promote the winter Char Dham Yatra. Theyre encouraging pilgrims to visit the famous temples of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath during the colder months, as reported by TOI. When the Char Dham temples close for winter from November to March, the worship of the deities happens at lower altitude locations.<br><br>The Gangotri idol is worshipped at Mukhba, the Yamunotri deity at Kharsali, and the Badrinath and Kedarnath idols at Jyotirmath (previously known as Joshimath) and Ukhimath, respectively. These winter shrines don’t see many visitors. This new plan aims to ease the strain on resources during the busy April to November pilgrimage season, when the large number of pilgrims often overwhelms the state’s infrastructure and leads to major traffic jams. To distribute the pilgrim traffic more evenly throughout the year and provide employment opportunities for locals during the winter, regarded as a low tourist season, the government plans to promote the winter pilgrimage. Officials have stated that this initiative will help manage the flow of pilgrims more effectively.<br><br>The public works department will work on fixing and widening the roads, while the tourism department will encourage more homestays and renovate rest houses along the pilgrimage route. Plus, they plan to have doctors and state disaster response force teams along the way to keep pilgrims safe and well. Tourism minister Satpal Maharaj said that although winter can be tough, especially in the hills, it has its own special charm. He assured that the current infrastructure is sufficient and that detailed plans are being made to make sure devotees dont face any issues. With fewer visitors in winter, pilgrims can easily have darshan of the deities.<br><br>This year, around 4.7 million devotees visited the Char Dham shrines from May 10 to November 17, compared to 5.4 million last year. Kedarnath saw 1.65 million pilgrims, Badrinath had 1.43 million visitors, and Gangotri and Yamunotri recorded 810,000 and 710,000 visitors, respectively. Officials said the slight decline in numbers was due to extended monsoon rains and landslides that affected the Kedarnath trek route.</p>