Dehradun, Uttarakhand April 29 : The portals of the Kedarnath temple were reopened at 6:10 am on Wednesday. Kedarnath Temple is visited by lakhs of tourists and devotees every year from across the country and abroad.
However, this darshan’ for the devotees is not allowed at the temple as of now due to the nationwide lockdown enforced to limit the fast-spreading novel coronavirus.
The gates of decked up Kedarnath Temple were opened in the presence of only16 people including the chief priest of the temple. The chief priest of Kedarnath along with some followers had on Monday taken the Baba Kedarnath’s idol to the shrine.
The group had left with Baba Kedarnath’s ‘doli’ on Sunday morning from Gaddisthal to Gaurikund. The ‘yatra’ was done on a vehicle till Gaurikund, while the rest on foot to Kedarnath Dham.
The dates for the pilgrimage are usually decided around the occasion of Shivratri in February and as per the Hindu Panchang in the presence of priests from the Omkareshwar Temple, the Rawal of Bhimashankar Shivling, among others.
However, this year the authorities decided to defer the pilgrimage in the wake of the virus outbreak in a bid to ensure the safety of pilgrims and maintain social distancing norms to prevent the spread of the infection.
Covid situation
Uttarakhand has recorded 52 positive cases of Covid-19 so far, according to the state Health Department informed in a bulletin.
According to the bulletin, there are 18 active cases of COVID-19 and 34 people have recovered from the disease in the state.
With 1,594 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the last 24 hours and 51 deaths, India’s total count of coronavirus cases surged to 29,974, as per the data shared by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
(PTI)
