Kedarnath temple doors for devotees, CM Dhami offers prayers

Devotees arrive to offer prayers at the Kedarnath Temple after its doors opened marking the Char Dham Yatra, in Kedarnath, Tuesday, April 25, 2023. (PTI Photo)

Earlier on Saturday, the portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines were opened for devotees on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, starting the Uttarakhand Chardham Yatra. The portals of Shri Badrinath Dham will be opened on April 27.

Chief Minister Dhami offered prayers at Kedarnath and wished for the happiness and prosperity of the country and the state. He welcomed the devotees to the shrine and participated in the bhandara organised by the chief sevak on the temple premises.

The CM appealed to the devotees to check the weather conditions before embarking on the journey so that no one faces any inconvenience. The yatra is going on smoothly in Gangotri and Yamunotri Dham, he added.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami offers prayers at the Kedarnath Temple after the opening of the temple’s doors, in Rudraprayag district, Tuesday, April 25, 2023. (PTI Photo)

Dhami said every possible effort has been made to make the state’s Chardham Yatra easy and safe. Social and voluntary organisations are getting full cooperation for the yatra. Based on the previous years’ experience, work has been done to advance the travel arrangements, he said.

As the trek route to the temple is blocked due to heavy snowfall and rainfall for the past few days, the Rudraprayag administration has requested the pilgrims coming to the shrine to keep track of the weather updates and plan their journey accordingly.

As per sources, a record number of tourists have already reached Uttarakhand to visit Badrinath. Most of the tourists are staying in nearby towns. Earlier on Friday, the state government decided to drop the daily cap on the number of devotees for the Chardham Yatra.

Last year, after the cap was withdrawn, over 46.15 lakh devotees visited the Chardham. The Badrinath shrine alone, between May 8 and November 19, 2022, saw over 17.6 lakh pilgrims, as per the government data.