Dehra Dun: A day after Kedarnath, the portals of famous Himalayan shrine of Badrinath were reopened
on Monday for pilgrims after a gap of six months.
Amid blowing of conches and chanting of vedic hymns and
shlokas, chief priest of Badrinath shrine Rawal Keshava
Namboodiri opened the doors of the temple at 05:35 hrs Monday morning as the palanquin carrying the idol of Lord Vishnu was
taken inside the sanctum sanctorum, said Anusuiya Prasad
Bhatt, Chairman of Shri Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee.
During the opening ceremony of the temple, situated at
a height of 3,133 meter in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand
Disaster Management Minister Khajan Das and principal
secretary, Religious Tourism Department Rakesh Sharma were
also present along with hundreds of devotees outside the
sanctum sanctorum braving chilly winds.
Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank was also
scheduled to attend the ceremony but he could not
reach Badrinath due to some reason, said Bhatt.
The portals of another famous shrine of Kedarnath in
Rudraprayag district were thrown open for pilgrims yesterday
and Nishank was among the first ones who paid obeisance at the
temple.
With the opening of portals of Badrinath today, all
the four shrines collectively known as Chardham have been
thrown open for pilgrims.
PTI
First Published: Monday, May 09, 2011, 14:16