Porni Banerjee | ১০ মে ২০২৪ ১২ : ৩৯Porni Banerjee

The portals or doors of sacred Kedarnath Dham – one of the most revered pilgrim center - were thrown open for public visit on the auspicious occasion of Akshay Trithiya on Friday after a six-month closure, including the peak winter season. The entry was made accessible for devotees amid chanting of ‘Har Har Mahadev’, and other hymns and bhajans as well. 

Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkhar Singh Dhami and numerous other devotees across the country were present at the holy shrine on the auspicious ceremony of the temple. Additionally, flowers were showered on the devotees by the choppers amid grand opening.

Besides Kedarnath Dham, the sacred doors of Yamunotri and Gangotri temples will be opened later today. Meanwhile, the doors of Badrinath temple (Lord Vishnu’s abode on Earth) will be made accessible for devotees at 6 am on May 12.

Pushkhar Singh Dhami and his wife Geeta Dhami offered their prayers earlier today and also extended their warm greetings to all the devotees visited the shrine.

“Hearty welcome and greetings to all the devotees in Shri Kedarnath Dham in Chardham Yatra-2024... Hail Lord Kedar!” the Chief Minister wrote on X.

According to the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC), the temple was decorated by 20 quintals of flowers that reached the shrine via helicopters amid the beating of numerous traditional drums and devotional hymns on Thursday. 

Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Kedarnath Dham is situated at a height of 11,000 feet above sea level and is part of Uttarakhand Char Dham and the 11th Jyotirlinga. The temple doors were closed on November 15 last year ahead of the peak winter season.

The Char Dham Yatra holds immense spiritual significance in Hinduism and is visited by lakhs of devotees every year. They get a chance to go for rounds of the Char Dham from April-May and October-November.