At least a 1,000 devotees will be allowed to visit the Kedarnath shrine every day when its portals are opened on May 4, Chief Minister Harish Rawat said and sought to allay safety concerns of pilgrims.

The number of visitors to the Himalayan shrine is being  regulated to avoid any confusion in case of an emergency, he said.

The devotees will also be bio-metrically registered before being allowed to embark on the pilgrimage to keep a tab on them, he said yesterday.

Kedarnath and adjoining areas had suffered massive devastation when a natural calamity hit Uttarakhand last year.

The chief minister said all efforts were underway to ensure smooth pilgrimage and added, "There is no reason why they should be anxious about their safety."

There will be arrangements in place to airlift passengers  in case of any emergency and in landslide prone areas enough  vehicles and SDRF personnel will be deployed to evacuate stranded people.

Efforts are also being made on a war footing to repair and build the 'char-dham route' well before the start of the  annual pilgrimage.


See: The massive devastation in Kedarnath in June 2013.