The chardham yatra came to an end on Thursday with the closure of the portals of Badrinath temple in the Garhwal Himalayas for the winter season.
The temple gates were closed at 3.35 pm after an elaborate ritual performed by chief priest of the temple Ishwari Prasad Namboodri.
The closure of the Badrinath temple marks the conclusion of this year’s chardham yatra, which had started late due to the coronavirus outbreak. The remaining three Himalayan temples of Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri have already been closed.
Badrinath temple was opened on 15th May. Badrinath Rawal, who are Namboodris of Kerala also reached Uttarakhand from Kannur on 20th April and was put into quarantine. Initially temple was scheduled to open on 30th April but then owing to all difficulties of lockdown and for necessary rituals, Tehri King decided to change the date to 15th May.
It is being said that for the first time in history, the traditional date of temple opening was changed. Date is normally decided on Basant Panchami every year. On 5th May the ritual of extracting oil, known as Gadu Ghada, was performed at Narendranagar Palace of the Tehri king. Only 11 people were present this year during the temple opening ceremony at Badrinath. Every one was wearing masks and social distancing norms were duly followed.
Garhwal Commissioner and Chardham Devasthanam Board CEO Ravinath Raman said over 1,45,000 yatris offered prayers at Badrinath during the yatra season. The number of pilgrims to come to Uttarakhand on chardham yatra was 3,10,000, he said.
Restrictions imposed on the yatris due to COVID-19 such as daily limit on the number of pilgrims visiting the temples, wearing of masks and social distancing remained in place throughout the yatra season, Raman added.
You must be logged in to post a comment.