Portals of Kedarnath Dham open for annual yatra amid snowy conditions

Thousands of pilgrims reached Kedarnath Dham in the morning hours on Tuesday even though the Uttarakhand government has stopped registration for Kedarnath Dham temporarily due to inclement weather in the area

The portals of the Kedarnath shrine were opened for the summer months on Tuesday morning with priests offering the first prayers (Rudrabhishek).

The portals of Kedarnath Dham were opened amid Vedic chants at 6.20am on Tuesday. (HT Photo)

Even though the state government has stopped registration for Kedarnath Dham temporarily due to inclement weather in the area, and devotees were stopped at many places along the Char Dham route, thousands of pilgrims managed to reach the shrine. Around 20,000 pilgrims were in Kedarnath Dham in the morning hours, according to officials.

The portals of Kedarnath Dham were opened amid Vedic chants at 6.20am. The temple was lavishly decorated with many quintals of flowers. Amid the tunes of the Army band, thousands of pilgrims from all over the country witnessed the opening of the portals.

Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who couldn’t reach the shrine at the time of the opening of the portals due to getting stuck for nearly an hour at Guptkashi helipad, later offered prayers at the shrine. He prayed for peace and the welfare of people in the state and the whole country.

Naresh Bawsar, a devotee from Gujarat, said that he is feeling overwhelmed to have the darshan of Lord Shiva at Kedarnath Dham. “I am very happy to see snow here. It feels divine,” he said

Virendra Singh, a devotee from Punjab, said that though he was stopped temporarily at some places along the route, he finally reached Rudraprayag to have darshan at Kedarnath Dham.

Shri Kedarnath-Kedarnath Temple Committee president Ajendra Ajay said this year the opening of the portals has witnessed a huge rush of pilgrims from across the country despite the snow and bad weather in the area. “But there is great enthusiasm among the devotees who are happily braving snowy conditions. Around 20,000 pilgrims had darshan in the morning hours”, he said

Located at a height of nearly 3,500 metres above sea level, the Kedarnath temple is located near the Mandakini River in the Rudraprayag district. According to tradition, the shrine was built by Pandavas and revived by Adi Shankaracharya. The shrine was the worst affected area during the 2013 flash floods, with Kedarnath town suffering extensive damage.

Char Dham shrines remain shut for around six months every year, opening in summers (April or May) and closing with the onset of winter (October or November). Last year over 46 lakh pilgrims visited Char Dham shrines, while in pre-Covid 2019, over 32.40 lakh pilgrims visited Char Dham shrines. This year over 50 lakh pilgrims are expected to visit Char Dham shrines