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Dehradun, April 28
The annual Chardham Yatra in Uttarakhand began today with the reopening of the portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri temples in the Garhwal Himalayas amid chanting of vedic hymns after nearly a six-month winter break.
Thousands of pilgrims thronged the two Himalayan shrines to witness the elaborate
ceremonies which preceded their simultaneous reopening at 12.15 pm on the occasion of ‘Akshaya Tritiya’.
After prayers were offered by priests and ‘Purohits’ in the Gangotri, former Chief Minister and Haridwar MP Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Gangotri
MLA Gopal Rawat formally declared the annual yatra open in the presence of Uttarkashi SP Dadan Pal Singh.
Thousands of pilgrims turned up at the temples to pay obeisance to Goddesses Ganga and Yamuna to whom the two shrines are dedicated.
The palanquin carrying the idol of Goddess Ganga departed from her winter abode at Mukhba yesterday and reached the Gangotri temple at 9 am this morning after making a night halt at the Bhairav temple, Gangotri temple committee chairman Mukesh Semwal said.
State Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj and Yamunotri MLA Kedar Singh Rawat were at Yamunotri as its gates were thrown open to the public.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of Yamunotri, Maharaj said the pilgrimage to the Chardham had become difficult in the wake of the 2013 calamity, but the challenges thrown up by the disaster had been overcome and the people could visit the four Himalayan shrines as well as the Sikh shrine of Hemkunt Sahib in a trouble-free manner.
The other two major shrines of Kedarnath and Badrinath on the Chardham circuit are scheduled to reopen on May 3 and May 6, respectively, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee slated to come there on the opening day itself.
Modi will visit Kedarnath on May 3 and Mukherjee will offer prayers at Badrinath on May 6.—PTI
Thousands of devotees throng temples
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