Char Dham pilgrimage begins in Uttarakhand 

The famous ‘Char Dham Yatra’ of Uttarakhand began with the opening of Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines in district Uttarkashi on Friday. The pilgrimage will become fully operational next month with the portals of Kedarnath opening on May 3 and Badrinath on May 6.

The Char Dham pilgrimage to four Hindu shrines- Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri is considered as the backbone of Uttarakhand economy. The tourism industry in the hill state has failed to recover after the 2013 floods- in which over 10000 pilgrims lost their lives. 

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The portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri temples were thrown open for pilgrims amidst chanting of Vedic hymns. Suresh Semwal, secretary of Gangotri temple committee, said, “Over one thousand and five hundred pilgrims attended the opening. The portal of the temple was opened at 12.10 pm. This time the temple committee has made elaborated arrangements for providing free food for visitors.” 

As President of India Pranab Mukherjee will be attending the opening of Badrinath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi the opening of Kedarnath, the Uttarakhand government is busy making  arrangements for welcoming the VVIPs.

In a move to spread message of safe Uttarakhand, a bicycle rally by policemen, army men and others is presently underway in the hill state. The expedition started from Dehradun this week and reached Guptkashi on Friday. The rally will conclude at Gaurikund on Saturday. 

In a move to provide 'Prasad' to devotees, the Badrinath Kedarnath Temples Committee (BKTC), a state government body managing the Badrinath and Kedarnath temples, has started  the online distribution of ‘Shri Badrish  Laddu’ from this season.

Made from ingredients like Chaulai, Jaggery, Kesar and other dry fruits, the temple committee will dispatch the ’Prasad’ by post to the devotes after receiving their online payment on www.badarikedar.org.

The small packet will cost Rs.195 and big packet Rs.390 (postal charges extra).

This time the tourism industry is looking at the pilgrimage season with high hopes. The visit of President Pranab Mukherjee and PM Narendra Modi is likely to provide hype to the annual pilgrimage in the Uttarakhand Himalayas.