Char Dham Care App a Technological intervention for Holy Pilgrimage with reference to Uttarakhand Char Dham Yatra

Abstract

Mobile technologies are revolutionizing pilgrimage management and visitor experiences, especially in high risk, high volume, and high scrutiny religious circuits such as Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand, India. This chapter offers an applied case study of mobile app design and use to enhance safety, logistics, and experience quality for millions of pilgrims. It provides a review of digital pilgrimage innovations and an integrated mobile application design and implementation model Char Dham Care for Uttarakhand, based on geography, culture, and environment. Using a mixed methods approach, the case study describes existing government initiatives (Tourist Care app; Aadhaar-based eKYC registration), field issues (connectivity challenges, privacy, inclusion and access barriers, hazardous conditions), user needs (accessibility, multilingual user interface, offline capabilities), and the research process and findings. A ‘one stop shop’ solution integrates hazard alerts, registration, offline mapping, and SOS functionality as a single privacy-first ecosystem.

The case study proposes practical recommendations for inclusive design, ethical governance, and sustainable functioning of mobile innovations in sensitive mountain ecosystems. In short, the contributions of this case study for both the academic and practical debates taking place around the digitalization of sacred spaces is valuable, and of direct relevance to similar initiatives in other places.