The portals of Kedarnath and Yamunotri shrines were ceremoniously closed to the public for the winter season on the occasion of Bhai Dooj on Friday.
The process of closing the portals of Kedarnath began at 2 AM on Friday with Samadhi Puja. After various ceremonies the portals of the main shrine were closed at 8:30 AM. The Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee chief executive officer BD Singh informed that this year, till the closing of the portals, a total of 7,32,241 devotees visited the Kedarnath shrine. The BKTC executive officer NP Jamloki said that following the closure of the portals of the shrine on Friday, the palanquin carrying the five-faced ceremonial idol of the lord left for Rampur to the tune of an army band. After staying the night there, the procession will halt on the night of November 10 at the Vishwanath temple in Guptkashi. On November 11, the procession will reach the Omkareshwar temple in Ukhimath which is the winter abode of lord Kedarnath.
The lord will be worshipped at the Omkareshwar temple for the duration of the winter season. Similarly, the Yamunotri shrine was closed to the public ceremoniously in the afternoon.
The ceremonial procession of the goddess Yamuna departed for her winter abode at Kharsali.
It is pertinent to mention here that the portals of Gangotri were closed to the public earlier on Thursday. The Badrinath shrine is slated to be closed to the public for the winters on November 20.
That will mark the end of the Char Dham Yatra for this year though devotees can visit the shrines where the presiding deities of the Char Dham shrines are worshipped ceremoniously for the duration of winter.