Portals of Kedarnath in Uttarakhand opened for devotees today, a day after thousands of pilgrims were stopped to proceed towards the temple due to bad weather conditions in the area.
Kedarnath temple was decorated with 20 quintals of flowers for the opening. Devotees also played the drums after the portals of Kedarnath Dham, surrounded by snowy mountains, opened for the pilgrims.
The first prayer at Baba Kedar was read in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also offered prayers at the 11th Jyotirlinga.
The Chief Minister also participated in the Bhandara program organized by the Mukhya Sevak on the temple premises.
While addressing the devotees, Dhami said that every possible effort has been made to make the Chardham Yatra of Uttarakhand easy and safe. Social organizations and voluntary organizations are also extending full cooperation for the yatra. Based on the experiences of the previous years, work has been done to advance the Yatra arrangements.
President of Shri Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee Shri Ajendra Ajay, MLA Kedarnath Smt. Shaila Rani Rawat, District Panchayat President Smt. Amardei Shah, District President BJP Singh Mahavir Panwar, Former BJP President Shri Dinesh Uniyal, District Magistrate Shri Mayur Dixit, Superintendent of Police Smt. Visakha Ashok Bhadane, Chief Executive Officer Kedarnath Shri Yogendra Singh and devotees were also present.
#WATCH | Uttarakhand: Devotees play drums after the portals of Kedarnath Dham opened for the pilgrims. pic.twitter.com/tKacLmvSE6— ANI (@ANI) April 25, 2023
Pilgrims on Monday were asked to wait in Rishikesh, Gaurikund, Guptkashi and Sonprayag till an improvement in the weather.
The Uttarakhand government has also stopped accepting registration applications for now from pilgrims for the Kedarnath Dham Yatra in view of heavy snowfall on the pilgrimage route and a warning of inclement weather by the Met department.
#WATCH | Uttarakhand: The portals of Kedarnath Dham are set to open. The temple is decorated with 20 quintal flowers. Thousands of pilgrims are present in Kedarnath Dham during the opening of the portals. pic.twitter.com/TQSv3FeDe4— ANI (@ANI) April 25, 2023
India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an alert for the heavy snowfall on the Kedarnath Dham route, with the weather expected to remain inclement in Kedarghati over this week.
#WATCH | Uttarakhand: The portals of Kedarnath Dham opened for devotees. Kedarnath Temple Chief Priest Jagadguru Rawal Bhima Shankar Ling Shivacharya opened the portals. pic.twitter.com/WjPf2fcYdg— ANI (@ANI) April 25, 2023
“The weather is expected to remain bad in Kedarghati for the next one week. On the alert of the Meteorological Department, the state government has stopped the registration of the visit to Kedarnath Dham. The heavy snowfall in Kedarnath has created difficulties for the administration," news agency ANI quoted an official statement.
In view of the intermittent snowfall and rain in Kedarnath, the temple committee chairman has appealed to the devotees to follow the guidelines issued by the state government before starting the journey and to make arrangements for their stay there in advance.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also on Monday evening reached Guptkashi to enquire about the arrangements for pilgrims.
(With PTI and ANI inputs)
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