Kedarnath: As soon as the doors opened, there was a flood of faith in Dham, Kedarpuri echoed with the cheers of Mahadev
On Tuesday, the portals of Kedarnath Dham were opened with traditional rituals, which marked the beginning of the pilgrimage season for the devotees. The event was greeted with a flood of faith, as thousands of devotees gathered at the Dham to witness the occasion. The doors of the Dham opened at 6.20 am, and the air reverberated with the chants of Lord Shiva. The atmosphere was electric as the pilgrims danced to the beat of the drums in celebration of this auspicious day.
The process of opening the doors of the Kedarnath temple commenced at 5 am. The first step involved following religious customs, which included bringing the Panchmukhi Bhog idol of Baba Kedar to the temple premises from Rawal Niwas in a Chal Utsav Vigraha Doli. Subsequently, the temple administration opened the doors of the temple in the presence of Rawal and officials of the Shri Badrinath Kedarnath temple committee. The chief priest then performed special prayers to Lord Kedarnath in the inner sanctum. Finally, the doors of the temple were opened to allow the devotees to seek blessings and have the darshan of Lord Kedarnath, marking the commencement of the summer season.
As per the warning of adverse weather conditions in Kedarnath for the next few days, Tehri police have been put on high alert. Despite the opening of the doors of the Dham, the region is experiencing continuous snowfall due to inclement weather. Consequently, the police are currently preventing Kedarnath Yatris from proceeding further at Tehri, the entrance of the Chardham Yatra. This is being done to ensure the safety of the pilgrims in the wake of the challenging weather conditions.
According to SSP Navneet Singh Bhullar, the Tehri police have taken steps to ensure the safety of the Kedarnath Yatris amidst the heavy snowfall and bad weather alerts. The police have stopped the passengers at Vyasi in Bhadrakali and Munikireti police stations and advised them to stay in Rishikesh for the time being. Additionally, the registration for the Kedarnath Yatra has been closed in light of the challenging weather conditions. These measures have been taken to prevent any untoward incidents and ensure the safety of the devotees planning to undertake the Kedarnath Yatra.
SSP Navneet Singh Bhullar has instructed the Munikireti police station to prevent the pilgrims from traveling to Kedarnath in Munikireti and Rishikesh surrounding areas due to the heavy snowfall and bad weather. However, there are no restrictions on passengers traveling to Gangotri and Yamunotri. Recently, on Monday, a group of 800 devotees from Vadodara, Gujarat arrived at the Kedarnath Dham to seek blessings from Lord Kedarnath and witness Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Kedarnath reconstruction project, which has been a long-standing dream of his.
A group of pilgrims from Gujarat embarked on the Kedarnath Yatra on foot, wearing a red cap named Badri-Kedar, and expressed great enthusiasm for the pilgrimage. Chanting Kedar, they moved forward on their journey toward Baba Kedar. The group comprised 800 devotees from Vadodara, as per Deepak, one of the members. After visiting Baba Kedar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also expected to visit and oversee the beautification of Kedarnath Dham as a part of his dream project. Additionally, another group of 100 pilgrims from Jalandhar has also reached Kedarnath Dham.
The government has completely halted registration at offline registration counters located in Haridwar and Rishikesh.
The government has completely stopped registration at offline registration counters in Haridwar and Rishikesh. After the registration was stopped, only those pilgrims who had already registered will be allowed to visit the temple. This means that for the next week, no pilgrim will be able to register and visit Kedarnath Dham.
