Abodes of Gods

With the beginning of the Yatra season  begin the plight of thousands of animals utilized to serve the lakhs of visiting pilgrims.  These hapless horses and mules are employed to transport baggage and other requirements of the pilfrims, some of whom also use these animals to cover the Yatras.  The treks in the direction of Kailash-Mansarovar, Hemkund, Gangotri, Yamunotri and Kedarnath are chiefly identified for using large number of animals (an estimate states more than 10,000) and completely neglecting their basic are, including food and shelter.

                        Kedarnath trek starts from Gaurikund and for Hemkund Saheb and Valley of Flowers from Gobindghat.  Here a good number of horses and mules are pressed into service.  Not only are these animals ill fed and exploited, they are not even given proper medical and other aid.  Recurrent rains aggravate the plight of these exploited animals.  They are subjected to harsh conditions and are exposed to continuous rain and bitter cold for weeks on end.

                        During the Char Dham Yatra season, animals are also brought in from the neighbouring towns, including Bijnor, Najibabad, Dhampur and Nagina. There are some Popular tourist places in Uttarakhand such as: Nainital, Dehradun , Mussoorie, Ranikhet, Pithoragarh, Tehri, Jageshwar, Bhimtal, Kausani, Chaukori , Bageshwar, Mukteshwar, Hemkund, Chakrata, Purola, Chamba, Gwaldam, Khirsu, Deoprayag, Gangotri,Yamunotri, Kadernath, Badrinath, Haridwar, Pindari, Glacier, Corbet National Park , Rajaji National Park.

                        The Kailash-Mansarovar trek (Pithoragarh), for instance, starts from Pangla and has its first night stay at Gala, and subsequently in Boodi, Gunji, Kalapani, Nabhidang and finally in Lipulekh.  The trekkers are provided with medical facilities and reasonably comfortable lodging arrangements; but sadly the horses and mules are crammed in crude tents made with polythene sheets which hardly provide any relief from the sub zero temperatures.  In certain places, even these crude tents are not available and the animals are made to stand in knee deep snow under open skies.  In Kedarnath and Yamunotri, the animals make four to five trips everyday,” she reveals.