The doors of Kedarnath Dham opened to pilgrims on Tuesday morning, amid chanting of shlokas (hymns) and loud drumbeats. The home of Lord Shiva was decked with 20 quintals of flowers ahead of the opening of one of the country’s major pilgrimage destinations. However, due to severe snowfall on the pilgrimage path and a Met department warning of inclement weather, the Uttarakhand government has suspended accepting registration applications from pilgrims for the Kedarnath Dham Yatra.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a snowfall warning for the Kedarnath Dham route. According to an official statement, the weather in Kedarghati is likely to continue unfavourable this week.
“The weather is expected to remain bad in Kedarghati for the next one week. On the alert of the Meteorological Department, the state government has stopped the registration of the visit to Kedarnath Dham. The heavy snowfall in Kedarnath has created difficulties for the administration,” read the statement.
“Registration of pilgrims for the Kedarnath pilgrimage has been stopped in view of the snowfall of three to four feet on the Kedarnath pedestrian route and Dham and the warning by the Mete Department,” it added.
Meanwhile, the first group of pilgrims left Haridwar on Saturday for the Char Dham Yatra. On the auspicious festival of Akshay Tritiya, the Yatra commenced at Yamunotri Dham.
