Gopeshwar, Nov 25 (PTI) The Chardham Yatra concluded on Tuesday as the doors of the Badrinath Dham located in Uttarakhand’s upper Garhwal region closed for the winter season.
Officials of the Shri Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee said that after special prayers, the doors of Badrinath Dham were closed for devotees at 2.56 pm on Tuesday. Despite cold weather conditions, a large number of devotees from India and abroad were present to have darshan of Badri Vishal.
They said that the process of closing the doors had begun in the morning. The last puja before closing was performed by Rawal Amarnath Namboodri, the chief priest of Badrinath temple.
For this occasion, the temple complex was decorated with several quintals of flowers, mainly yellow and orange marigold flowers.
The atmosphere at Badrinath Dham was filled with devotion since morning with traditional folk dances and bhajan kirtans, accompanied by the melodious tunes of the Army’s Garhwal Scout bands.
The ‘utsav doli’ of the Lord Badrinath will depart on Wednesday for the Narsingh Temple in Jyotirmath, his winter residence, where devotees can have darshan during the winter.
With the closure of the Badrinath temple in Chamoli district, this year’s Chardham Yatra also concluded.
The doors of three of the four Dhams in the Garhwal Himalayas were closed for the winter season only last month. The doors of Kedarnath Dham and Yamunotri Dham were closed on October 23, while the sacred portals of Gangotri Dham were closed on October 22, the day after Diwali, on the occasion of Annakut.
Due to heavy snowfall and severe cold in winter, the doors of the four templs located in the high Himalayan region are closed for devotees every year in October-November and are reopened in April-May of the following year.
The Chardham Yatra, which lasts for about six months every year, is considered the backbone of the state’s economy.
This year, about 51 lakh pilgrims from India and abroad came for the Char Dham Yatra, including 2.74 lakh pilgrims who came to pay obeisance at the Hemkund Sahib Gurudwara.
According to official figures, this time 6.44 lakh pilgrims came to Yamunotri, 7.58 lakh to Gangotri, 17.68 lakh to Kedarnath, while 16.52 lakh pilgrims reached Badrinath till Monday. PTI DPT NB NB
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