Strict safety protocols needed for yatras: Negi

Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi said on Thursday that the recent rain calamity in Chamba underlined the urgent need for strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all future religious yatras in Himachal Pradesh.

Negi, while addressing mediapersons, said the government was committed to ensuring that no such tragedy was repeated and yatras were conducted in a more regulated and safer manner. He added that small tunnels along vulnerable road stretches should be constructed to bypass landslide-prone areas, strong crash barriers be installed on highways and health and security facilities along pilgrimage routes be strengthened.

The minister said that the government would prepare detailed guidelines, taking into account environmental concerns, local traditions and the safety of pilgrims. The Chief Minister had directed officials to study long-term solutions in consultation with experts, local communities and religious bodies for drafting the SOPs.

He said some individuals and social media platforms claimed that thousands of people had died in Chamba and Bharmour and the government deliberately suspended mobile phone and Internet services. He claimed 15,000 stranded pilgrims had been evacuated from Bharmour and Manimahesh and transported to Pathankot and Kangra in over 165 HRTC buses, while the Air Force helicopters airlifted the elderly, injured and women.