The portals of the Kedarnath shrine were reopened to the public on Tuesday amid Vedic chants. About 3,000 |devotees were present on the occasion apart from the State Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and Agriculture Minister Harak Singh Rawat.
On Monday, the ceremonial palanquin of lord Kedarnath departed from Gaurikund and reached Kedarnath in the night. As per the auspicious time decided, the priest of the shrine carried the idol of the lord from the palanquin and placed it in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. After Vedic chants and ritual worship the portals of the shrine were re opened to the public at 7:15 AM in the presence of the head priest Bhima Shankar ling and Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee chairman Ganesh Godiyal.
Inspite of the cold, thousands of devotees started arriving at Kedarnath from 4:30 AM for a darshan of the lord on this important occasion with devotees crowding the space from the portals of the shrine to the nearby route.
later, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna reached Kedarnath by helicopter along with his wife and cabinet minister Harak Singh Rawat at 9 am and departed for Dehradun about an hour later.
Apart from the thousands of devotees, Kedarnath MlA Shaila Rani Rawat, Rudraprayag district magistrate Neeraj Khairwal and temple committee CEO Anil Sharma were also present on the occasion.