Portals of Badrinath Temple opened amid chanting of Vedic Mantras

Dehradun: After a long winter break, the doors of Badrinath temple in Uttarakhand were opened at 4:30 am on Friday (May 15, 2020). Only a handful of people were present during the 'kapat opening' ceremony due to the ongoing nationwide lockdown.

The temple was beautifully decorated with flowers as the temple and its surroundings were decked with quintals of marigolds.  Religious ceremonies were held inside the temple premises before it got opened for the devotees. As per ANI reports, 28 people including the Chief Priest was present at the temple when its portals opened.

As per an estimated figure registered last year, around 10,000 pilgrims visited the shrine last year on the first day of its opening. State Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and Governor Baby Rani Maurya are expected to offer prayers in the temple after its reopening.

Earlier, the portals of Badrinath temple in Garhwal Himalayas were scheduled to open on April 30 but was delayed due to lockdown. The decision to reschedule the opening of the temple gates was taken in view of circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic, Dharmadhikari of the Badrinath temple Bhuvan Chandra Uniyal said.

Badrinath, situated between the two mountains named Nar and Narayan on the left bank of the Alaknanda river, is also famous for its picturesque locales.