Dehradun, June 1 -- The first month of the ongoing Char Dham yatra has witnessed a 12% drop in pilgrim turnout compared to the same period in 2024, according to an analysis conducted by Dehradun-based environmental action and advocacy group SDC Foundation. According to the SDC foundation, a total of 17,17,619 devotees visited Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri, and Gangotri in the first month of the 2025 pilgrimage season. In comparison, the yatra had recorded 19,56,269 pilgrims during the same period last year, marking a decrease of 2,38,650 pilgrims, or an overall drop of 12%. A closer look at shrine-wise figures highlighted this decline more clearly, it said. Kedarnath saw 6,49,161 pilgrims in 2025 as against 7,48,348 in 2024, registering a 13% fall. Badrinath's numbers dropped slightly from 4,72,065 in 2024 to 4,57,409 in 2025, reflecting a 3% drop. Yamunotri, which often faces infrastructural challenges due to its geography, saw a decline of 11%, with numbers falling from 3,46,545 last year to 3,02,713 this year. Gangotri recorded the steepest decline at 14%, with 2,93,228 pilgrims visiting in 2025 compared to 3,39,892 in 2024. The Char Dham yatra began on April 30 with the opening of Yamunotri and Gangotri temples. The portals of Kedarnath Dham, the most visited by pilgrims among the four shrines, opened on May 2 and Badrinath temple on May 4. Over 1.4 million pilgrims have already visited the Char Dham shrines. Anoop Nautiyal, founder of SDC Foundation, said that the decline in numbers cannot be attributed to a single cause. "Instead, it reflects a confluence of factors, including early Indo-Pak tensions, inconsistent weather conditions during the initial days of the yatra, and ongoing concerns about the complexities surrounding the registration process," he said. He said the SDC Foundation has been consistently monitoring the Char Dham yatra over the years using official data....