The Chardham Yatra will have a lacklustre opening for the second consecutive year due to COVID-19 pandemic as the portals of Yamunotri and Gangotri will open on Friday and Saturday respectively without any pilgrims in attendance. Located in Uttarakhand's Garhwal region, all the four temples also called Chardham, have been kept out of bounds for devotees as a precautionary measure in view of the surge in COVID-19 cases. Not more than 25 people each, including priests, teerth purohits and district administration officials, will attend the opening ceremonies at Yamunotri and Gangotri which will be low-key affairs, Gangotri Mandir Samiti official Rajesh Semwal said. Last year also they had reopened after their closure in winters only so that the priests could conduct regular pray...
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A day after portals of Gangotri were closed for the winters, the sacred portals of the Himalayan shrine of Kedarnath were also closed for the winter season on Monday amid a fresh spell of snowfall. The gates of the temple, which houses one of the 11 jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva and attracts devotees from across the world, were closed at 8:30 am after an elaborate ceremony. The temple priest also performed a 'Samadhi Puja' of Lord Shiva. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath, and officials of Devasthanam Board, among others, attended the ceremony. Snowfall accompanied by a drizzle began in Kedarnath on Sunday night and continued till the morning. Ironically, this year Kedarnath region has experienced heavy snowfall and ev...
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