Kedarnath shrine closes for winter

The Uttarakhand state government had resumed the puja on September 11 after the mid-June floods and landslide. On October 5,the government had allowed pilgrims and locals to undertake the Kedarnath yatra on foot.

B D Singh,CEO of Badrinath-Kedarnath temple committee said that after the resumption of the puja,the temple committee had deployed 14 priests to perform it regularly at the temple.

According to the temple committees records,1,547 pilgrims and locals have visited Kedarnath temple after the puja was resumed.

They were mostly from Gujarat,Delhi and parts of south India, Singh said,adding that there were about 200 people at Kedarnath when the portals were closed at 8 am Tuesday.

Reports from Guptakashi state that after the governments decision to re-start the yatra season on October 5,several people travelled to Kedar valley to trace their relatives who had gone missing in the floods.

The portals of Gangotri temple closed for the winter season on Monday.