Grand opening of Kedarnath Temple for devotees

Uttrakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami prayed in the temple with his wife

The iconic Kedarnath Temple in Uttarakhand saw a grand opening for devotees on today May, 06 morning as a huge crowd waited for the moment to entire the shrine. The chief minister of Uttrakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami, was also present at the Kedarnath temple. After the doors were opened, Dhami prayed in the temple with his wife. 

The doors of Kedarnath Dham opened with rituals & Vedic chanting, and the temple has been decorated with 15 quintal flowers. Kedarnath's Rawal Bhimashankar Linga opened the doors of Baba Kedar. On the occasion of the opening of the doors thousands of devotees were present in the Dham. Meanwhile, on 8 May, the doors of Badrinath will open. 

After almost two years, Char Dham Yatra commenced, without Covid - 19 restrictions since the pandemic began. Unlike the last year, the government has not mandated carrying a negative COVID - 19 test report or a COVID - 19 vaccination certificate. 

The Indo - Tibetan Border Force (ITBP) has made extensive preparation to respond to any natural disaster and felicitate pilgrimage movement in Uttrakhand during Char Dham Yatra. 

There will be free health services by a private health organization for devotees on the Char Dham Yatra route to ensure a safe and comfortable yatra for people. Teams of doctors and nurses from social organisations will be providing health services to devotees during the Yatra across the state. 

Though a few curbs have been lifted, the state government has set a daily pilgrimage limit at 12,000. Meanwhile, Char Dham Yatra also started on May 03. The yatra kicked off on Tuesday with the opening of the Gangotri and Yamunotri portals to devotees on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya in the presence of CM Pushkar Singh Dhami. 

Notably, Gangotri, along with Yamunotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath are the four most revered Hindu Pilgrimages in the Himalayas. 

Few hours before the temple doors opened for the devotees, CM Dhami, through a Twitter post, welcomed the devotees and assured his government would provide safe and secure journey. 

According to the Uttrakhand government, 7,000 pilgrims will be allowed daily at Gangotri, 15,000 at Badrinath, 12,000 at Kedarnath, and 4,000 at Yamunotri. This arrangement has been made by the government for 45 days. 

Kedarnath is a town in Rudraprayag district in the state of Uttrakhand in India and has gained importance because of Kedarnath temple. It is approximately 86 kilometres from Rudraprayag, the district headquater. It is a Nagar Panchayat in the Rudraprayag district. Kedarnath is the most remote of the four Chota Char Dham pilgrimages sites. It is located in Himalayas, about 3,583 m (11,755 ft) above sea level near the Chorabari Glacier, which is the source of the Mandakini River.