Pilgrimage season in Uttarakhand picks up pace as lakhs prepare for Char Dham Yatra, with revised rules, improved safety systems and multiple travel options shaping this year’s journey.
Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan said that QR codes providing information on pilgrims' routines will be displayed at various locations during the yatra season.
The annual pilgrimage to Kedarnath will commence on April 22 this year, while the sacred Char Dham Yatra will begin on the auspicious occasion of Akshay Tritiya, which falls on April 19. The portals of the Badrinath shrine will open on April 23.
The decision to ban camera and mobile phones was taken in a meeting held to take stock of the preparations for the upcoming chardham pilgrimage under the leadership of Garhwal Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey.
The portals of the Badrinath Shrine were closed for the winter season on Tuesday as per traditional rituals and the chanting of Vedic Mantras in the presence of a huge crowd of devotees
Earlier, on his first visit to the State on 7 October, Prime Minister Modi had visited Rishikesh to inaugurate an oxygen plant at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) there.
Over five thousand devotees participated in the closing ceremony of Badrinath temple on Thursday.
Over 450 people attended the portal closing ceremony of Kedarnath on Monday morning.
Yogi visited Kedarnath and offered prayer at the holy Hindu shrine located in Rudraprayag district. On Monday, he will head to Badrinath. Yogi Adityanath was received at the Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat.
The construction work of three new caves have been completed now and they would become functional within a week.
