The Doors of Kedarnath Shrine In Uttarakhand are opened for the devotees today morning at 6:25 am with full rituals and vedic chants. The Chief Minister of the state Pushkar Singh Dhami along with his wife offered prayers. As per the reports the shrine is decorated with 15 quintals of flowers. This year the shrines are opened for the devotees with full protopols and safety for the pilgrims eversince the pandemic hit the country. The government this year has not made mandatory for the pilgrims to carry a negative Covid test report and a vaccination certificate.
Earlier on May 3rd, The Char Dham Yatra kicked off with the opening of Gangotri and Yamunotri portals for the devotees, on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya. Now only the Badrinath Shrine is in line to open which is scheduled to open its Kapat(doors) on the 8th of May this year. The Char Dham draws lakhs of tourists and devotees every year across the country and abroad.
About 10,000 pilgrims were present at the doors of the Dham to open for offering prayers to Lord Shiva. A week before the opening of the temple CM Dhami visited there to review all the preparations of Kedarnath Yatra. The Indo- Tibetan border force(ITBP) has made extensive preparations to respond to any natural disaster and felicitate pilgrim movement in Uttarakhand during the Char Dham Yatra. To ensure a safe and comfortable Yatra for the people arrangements are made for a free health service by a private organisation.
According to the Uttarakhand government, 7000 pilgrims will be allowed daily at the Gangotri, 15000 at Badrinath, 12000 at Kedarnath, and 4000 at Yamunotri.
Kedar Baba’s doli (palanquin) left for Kedarnath from Omkareshwar Temple at Ukhimath on May 2. Char Dham Yatra began on May 3 this year with the opening of portals of the Yamunotri temple in the Uttarkashi district of the state. Kedarnath Dham, one of the country’s 12 Jyotirlingas contains a massive temple of Lord Shiva built by connecting stone boulders on the banks of the Mandakini river. Since it is in the shape of a triangle, this Jyotirlinga is distinct from the others.
Highlights of Cham Dham Yatra 2022:
- A daily limit has been set for the number of pilgrims visiting the temple to avoid the inconvenience due to limited accommodation available at the Himalayan Shrine.
- This year carrying a negative Covid test report or a vaccination certificate is not mandatory.
- The Char Dham yatra began on May 3 with the portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri temples in Uttarkashi district thrown open to devotees on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya. The gates of Gangotri were opened at 11.15 am on May 3 and those of Yamunotri at 12.15 pm in the presence of thousands of devotees, administrative and temple committee officials.
- The Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami along with his wife visited the Gangotri and offered prayers and witnessed the ceremonious opening of the Kapat.
- The commencement of the Char Dham yatra took place with the opening of Gangotri and Yamunotri.Badrinath is set to open on the 8th of May.
- The government has set a daily limit for the pilgrims to visit to avoid any inconvinence. Gangotri has 7000 pilgrims, Yamunotri has 4000 pilgrims, and Badrinath has 15000 pilgrims limit.
- This year ever since the pandemic in 2019, the yatra has begun without any restrictions so there will be a record number of pilgrims to visit the Char Dham.
