Doors of Kedarnath Dham open to pilgrims

RUDRAPRAYAG: Amid chanting of shlokas (hymns) and lusty drumbeats, the doors of Kedarnath Dham opened to pilgrims on Tuesday morning. Ahead of the opening of one of the country's holiest pilgrimage sites, the abode of Lord Shiva was decorated with 20 quintals of flowers.

However, the Uttarakhand government has stopped accepting registration applications from pilgrims for the Kedarnath Dham Yatra in view of heavy snowfall on the pilgrimage route and a warning of inclement weather by the Met department.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an alert for the heavy snowfall on the Kedarnath Dham route. The weather is expected to remain inclement in Kedarghati over this week, according to an official statement.

"The weather is expected to remain bad in Kedarghati for the next one week. On the alert of the Meteorological Department, the state government has stopped the registration of the visit to Kedarnath Dham. The heavy snowfall in Kedarnath has created difficulties for the administration," read the statement.

"Registration of pilgrims for the Kedarnath pilgrimage has been stopped in view of the snowfall of three to four feet on the Kedarnath pedestrian route and Dham and the warning by the Mete Department," it added.

Meanwhile, the first batch of pilgrims left Haridwar for the Char Dham Yatra on Saturday. The Yatra began from Yamunotri Dham on the auspicious occasion of Akshay Tritiya.