Sacred portals of Badrinath Temple open for devotees today

Chamoli (Uttarakhand), May 8: The sacred portals of Badrinath opened for devotees on Sunday with rituals and chanting and the tunes of army band with a large number of devotees present in Badrinath Dham.

Two days ago, the doors of Kedarnath opened for devotees at 6.25 am following years old traditional ritual of Vedic chanting. The annual Chardham Yatra began on May 3 on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya with the opening of the portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri temples in the Uttarkashi district.

Located in Garhwal hill tracks in Chamoli district along the banks of Alaknanda River, Badrinath Temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu, while Kedarnath is a temple of Lord Shiva.

Badrinath is one of the four ancient pilgrimage sites referred to as 'Char Dham' which also include Yamunotri, Gangotri and Kedarnath. It is situated in the town of Badrinath in Uttarakhand.

It is open for six months every year (between the end of April and the beginning of November). Kedarnath Temple opened its doors for pilgrims on Friday morning.

Earlier this month, the state government capped the number of pilgrims visiting the Char Dhams. A total of 15,000 pilgrims will be allowed daily at Badrinath, 12,000 at Kedarnath, 7,000 at Gangotri and 4,000 at Yamunotri.

This arrangement has been made for 45 days. This year, it is not mandatory for pilgrims to carry a negative COVID-19 test report or vaccination certificate. Char Dhams draw lakhs of tourists and devotees every year from across the country and abroad, ANI reported.