Gopeshwar (U'khand), Aug 5 (PTI) People connected with Chardham Yatra held a mahapanchayat in Badrinath on Thursday demanding early start of the pilgrimage.

The two-year suspension of Chardham Yatra has hit hard people whose livelihoods were connected with it, including hoteliers and other traders, they said.

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"Youngsters are jobless. There is no work. Those who have taken loans are getting notices from the banks concerned to pay the EMIs. How will they repay the debts without income? Traders are on the verge of dying of hunger," they said.

The stakeholders, including local villagers, members of vyapar mandal, hoteliers, hak-hakookdharis of the temples, also took out a procession from the Mandir chauraha to Mana chauraha shouting slogans against the government.

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The Uttarakhand High Court has put a stay on Chardham Yatra in view of a possible third wave of Covid.

The state government has taken the matter to the Supreme Court where it is pending at present.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)