Dehradun: The Uttarakhand health department has credited its intensive medical screening and timely interventions with saving at least 750 lives during the 2025 Char Dham pilgrimage season. Between early May and the end of June, teams deployed across about 75 health facilities screened 10.02 lakh pilgrims, surpassing last year’s total of 9.5 lakh screenings for the entire season.Of those screened, over 750 devotees deemed medically unfit to travel to the high-altitude shrines at Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath were sent home to safeguard their lives. Many were elderly pilgrims at risk of hypoxia; 610 unfit pilgrims were returned via ambulance, and 39 were air-lifted by helicopter. An additional 108 devotees had to abandon their pilgrimage before reaching any shrine.Health teams also identified 37,014 pilgrims with high-risk comorbidities, of whom 6,629 received counselling en route. “Our intensive screenings and remedial care in the hills have sharply reduced mortality this season,” said State Health Secretary Dr. Rajesh Kumar. He added that while pilgrim numbers have slowed during the monsoon, screenings will resume at full pace once conditions improve.
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