Gangotri shrine closes for winters after Annakut festival

The portals of the Gangotri shrine in Uttarkashi has been closed for the winters. The shrine is dedicated to the goddess Ganga. The doors were closed on the occasion of the Annakut festival on Sunday. Priests closed the portals amid chanting of hymns and rituals at 12.15 pm. 

Gangotri temple committee president Suresh Semwal said, “After performing special rituals, the palanquin carrying the idol of goddess Ganga was taken out from the temple.” According to the Devasthanam Board, over 23,500 devotees visited the temple in this year’s yatra season.

Gangotri is the first shrine among the Char Dham temples to be closed. The idol of goddess Ganga will be shifted to its winter abode at Mukhba village where the devotees will offer prayers to the deity for the next six months. The temple will open in April-May next year.

CM Trivendra Singh Rawat, who was in Kedarnath on Sunday, in a post on Twitter, said, “I pray to Goddess Ganga to keep her blessings with all of her devotees.” The closing ceremony of the temple was attended by MLA Gangotri and Devasthanam Board member Gopal Rawat and deputy district magistrate Bhatwadi Devendra Singh Negi. Social distancing norms were in place during the closure of the valve and the departure of Utsav Doli, officials claimed.