Kedarnath, Yamunotri temples close for winters

Kedarnath and Yamunotri temples in Garhwal Himalayas were closed for the winter season amid the chanting of Vedic hymns on the occasion of Bhaiya Dooj on Tuesday.

While the gates of Kedarnath in Rudraprayag district were closed at 8.30 am, those of Yamunotri in Uttarkashi district were closed at 12.25 pm, officials of the temple committees concerned said.

A record nearly 10 lakh devotees paid obeisance at Kedarnath this season.

It is the highest ever footfall ever recorded by the centuries-old shrine which bore the brunt of the tragic 2013 deluge, a Badrinath-Kedarnath temple committee official said.

Around 1200 devotees attended the closing ceremony at Kedarnath this morning taking the total number of people visiting the Himalayan shrine this season to997585, a temple committee spokesman said.

An idol of the presiding deity Lord Shiva was loaded into a flower bedecked palanquin to be carried to the Omkareshwar temple at Ukhimath where he will be worshipped during the next six months, he said.

Chants of "Jai Baba Kedar" rent the air as the procession left for Ukhimath to a tune played by the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantryband.

The procession will reach Omkareshwar temple, Ukhimath on October 31 via Rampur and Guptkashi.

Temple committee officials, including its CEO B D Singh, the chief priest Kedar Ling and Rudraprayag Superintendent of Police Ajay Singh were prominent among those in attendance as the gates of the famous Himalayan shrine were closed.

Later at 12.25 pm, Yamunotri temple was also closed for devotees. The idol of goddess Yamuna was taken in a palanquin decorated with flowers after the closure of the temple gates to Kharsali where she will be worshipped during winter.

With today's closures, three of the four famous Himalayan shrines of Uttarakhand also known as chardham stand closed. Gangotri was closed on Monday.

The annual chardham yatra will come conclude on November 17, with the closure of Badrinath dedicated to Lord Vishnu.