There is a possibility of Char Dham Yatra becoming expensive for devotees this time. Under the Joint Rotation Travel Arrangement Committee, all the transport companies meeting in Rishikesh have taken a decision to increase the fare by five percent. The proposal for a fare hike has now been sent to the Transport Department for a final decision.
Rishikesh's transport companies have also opposed the proposal of the Transport Department to make two joint rotations for normal buses and AC-luxury buses for the journey. The companies said that the yatra has always operated under the same joint rotation from Rishikesh and should be the same this time as well.
On Tuesday, a meeting of transport companies under the Joint Rotation Travel Arrangement Committee was held at GMOU's Rishikesh office.
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In the meeting chaired by Sanjay Shastri, Chairman of the Rotation Arrangement Committee, the office bearers of all the companies agreed to increase the bus fare by a maximum of five percent given the current situation, increase in inflation, taxes, etc. The chairman of the committee said that TGMO and Doon Valley Company had gone out of their own free will in the rotation last year. Talks are underway to reintroduce them into the rotation this year.
He said that because of last year's problems, a physical registration system should be implemented for the registration of passengers this year. The travel arrangements were affected due to the implementation of the slot system last year. The committee had also raised this issue in the meeting chaired by Garhwal Divisional Commissioner Sushil Kumar regarding Chardham Yatra in Rishikesh.
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Opposing the second bus stand in Haridwar, the transport department wanted a joint rotation of normal buses at Rishikesh, while a joint rotation of AC-luxury buses at the Pantdeep bus stand in Haridwar for the convenience of passengers.
The department claims that due to this the passengers will not face any problems and they will be able to book buses from different bus stands at their convenience, but the transport companies of Rishikesh have come out against it. The companies do not want the tour to be operated from any other city other than Rishikesh.
