A curious situation has developed in the Yamunotri and Gangotri temples, two of the four main pilgrimage sites of the Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand, where officials have fished out around seven quintals (700 kg) of clothes, particularly sarees, discarded by pilgrims in rivers.
A report by the Times of India found that numerous pilgrims have been throwing away clothes in the rivers at the two temples, which are causing a great deal of incovenience for the authorities responsible for managing these shrines.
The situation had forced officials to issue warnings over loudspeakers and written notices over the imposition of Rs 1,000 fine for pilgrims who were responsible for discarding clothes in the rivers. However, these warnings have largely gone unheeded.
Suresh Semwal, the secretary of the Gangotri temple, informed that the temple workers there have collected 4 quintal clothes from the Bhagirathi river, which were handed over to the nagar panchayat for disposal.
Another official at the Yamunotri temple said that the situation is putting a severe burden on the cleaning staff. He also mentioned that the staff has been appealing to the pilgrims to not dump clothes, most of them being sarees.
One of the reasons behind the mass dumping of clothes is because these garments get heavier after getting wet, when the pilgrims take a dip in the water, said the official. As a result, they get dry clothes and leave the old clothes behind.
