The Char Dham Yatra began with the reopening of the portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines in the Uttarkashi district on the auspicious occasion of Akshay Tritiya on Tuesday.After ceremonial worship and amidst Vedic chanting, the portals of the Gangotri shrine were reopened to the public at 11:30 AM.
Later in the day, the portals of Yamunotri shrine were reopened to the public at 1:15 PM. A large number of devotees were present in Gangotri during the reopening of its portals to the public.
The devotees participated in rituals and also bathed in the sacred river near the shrine. The Uttarkashi district minister in charge Dhan Singh Rawat, local MLA Gopal Rawat, Garhwal commissioner BVRC Purushottam, temple committee chairman Suresh Semwal and others were also present at Gangotri on the occasion.
Earlier, the ceremonial procession of goddess Yamuna departed from her winter residence in Kharsali early in the morning. After it arrived in Yamunotri, the portals of the shrine were reopened to the public after rituals in the afternoon.It is pertinent to mention that while the reopening of the Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines to the public marks the start of the Char Dham Yatra, the reopening of Kedarnath shrine on May 9 and Badrinath on May 10 will mark the opening of all the Char Dham shrines to the public.