The Char Dham, meaning the four abodes, is a set of four pilgrimage sites in India. It is a popular belief that visiting these sites helps achieve moksha or salvation and every Hindu should visit the Char Dhams during one's lifetime.
This year, the pious yatra started on May 03rd with the opening of the gates of Shri Yamunotri Dham and Shri Gangotri Dham followed by the gates of Shri Kedarnath Dham on May 06th and Shri Badrinath Dham on May 08th. The yatra will continue for a period of 6 months till the gates close sometime after Diwali. During this period, close to 4 million devotees are expected to visit the Char Dhams, making it one of the biggest gathering of people in Uttarakhand in a single event in a year. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, there was a limited participation in the Char Dham Yatra in the last 2 years. This year, a footfall of around 40 lakh pilgrims is expected to participate in the pious event.
Addressing the issues of network connectivity and capacity augmentation in a topography like Uttarakhand was a challenging task. Jio’s digital team set off to maintain the desired data speed and initiated preparations for the yatra months in advance in order to ensure a true 4G experience during the entire yatra period.
Jio’s team set up several 'Digital Sewa Kendras' across towns and halt locations to engage the devotees. Furthermore, to rapidly augment the network, Jio installed ESCs and temporary Cells on Wheels (COW) sites to ensure uninterrupted voice and data connectivity for the devotees on the entire Char Dham route.
To create mass brand visibility, the team welcomed the devotees and simultaneously informed them about the exclusive 4G data availability on Jio network on the entire Char Dham route. Also, special initiatives were made to greet the devotees at the Char Dham Kapaat opening dates.
