Chardham pilgrimage begins

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The Chardham pilgrimage began on Wednesday with reopening of the portals of Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines.

Amid chanting of vedic hymns and shlokas, the doors of Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri temples were reopened coinciding with the auspicious day of Akshya Tritiya.

It is for the first time after a gap of over four decades that portals of three shrines were reopened on the same day.

As icy winds swept the area, scores of pilgrims offered prayers at the temples on the first day of the yatra season, officials said.

The portals of Kedarnath (3581 meter) were reopened at the crack of the dawn as the palanquin of Lord Shiva reached the sanctum sanctorum.

Doors of Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines, situated at a height of 3200 meter and 4421 meter respectively in Uttarkashi district were also thrown open.

Badrinath, which is located in Chamoli district at a height of 3133 meter, will be opened on May 9.

The Chardham yatra attracts nearly 15-17 lakh pilgrims every year from home and abroad.

As per official statistics, last year 76,8025 pilgrims visited Badrinath shrine, 55,5918 went to Kedarnath temple while the figures for Gangotri and Yamunotri stood at 32,91,11 and 28,7688 respectively.

The government has taken various steps for the smooth conduct of yatra and directed all the departments to work in tandem during the period.

Chief Minister B Khanduri has asked the transport department to ensure strict implementation of laws during the yatra season so that road accidents can be avoided. He also directed the health department to deploy mobile vans in the areas prone to accidents to provide timely medical help to pilgrims in case of any eventuality.

"All the arrangements for the yatra have been completed," said a top official of the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN), a state government enterprise which is the nodal agency for the yatra.

GMVN is also offering special packages to attract more pilgrims to the Chardham.

In the holy town of Rishikesh from where the yatra begins, the state authorities have made arrangements for running nearly 4000 buses for all the four pilgrim centres of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri.

The pilgrimage to Hemkund Sahib, a Sikh shrine, would also begin this month.