Dehradun/Nainital: In light of the rapidly increasing footfall at the renowned Kainchi Dham temple, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami chaired a high-level meeting at his residence on Thursday, instructing officials to ensure efficient and future-ready management of the Kainchi Dham fair. Emphasizing the comfort and safety of devotees, the Chief Minister directed the formulation of immediate, mid-term, and long-term action plans.
He said that while short-term steps should focus on improving ongoing fair operations, robust and sustainable systems must be developed under the medium- and long-term strategies to cater to the growing number of visitors. One of the key directives was the speedy completion of road widening work along the approximately 3-kilometre stretch from the sanatorium to the Bhawali petrol pump to ease traffic congestion.
Rapid Surge in Pilgrim Numbers
Nainital District Magistrate Vandana Singh highlighted the exponential rise in the number of visitors to Kainchi Dham in recent years. While the shrine earlier received an average of 8 lakh devotees annually, the number jumped to around 24 lakh last year. This year, the count is expected to rise even further.
Given the limited spatial capacity of the temple premises, a detailed strategy has been prepared for crowd regulation and traffic management. Among the proposed measures are the introduction of a registration system for darshan and setting a daily cap on the number of visitors to ensure a safe and organized pilgrimage experience.
The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary R.K. Sudhanshu, Additional Chief Executive Officer R. Meenakshi Sundaram, Secretary Shailesh Bagauli, Vinay Shankar Pandey, ADGP A.P. Anshuman, IG Kumaon Riddhim Agarwal (via virtual mode), and SSP Nainital P.S. Meena.
