To strains of Shlok (hymns) and Kama Melam, the doors of Kedarnath Dham opened to pilgrims on Tuesday morning. The Shiva temple, one of the holiest places of pilgrimage in the country, was decorated with 20 maza flowers on the occasion of its inauguration. However, the Uttarakhand government has stopped accepting pilgrim registration applications for the Kedarnath Dham Yatra due to heavy snowfall on the pilgrimage route and a weather department warning.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a heavy snowfall warning for the Kedarnath-Dham route. According to the official report, bad weather is expected in Katarkati this week. “The weather in Kedarnath is expected to remain bad for the next week. Following warnings from the Meteorological Centre, the state government has stopped the registration of visitors to the Kedarnath Dam. Heavy snowfall in Kedarnath caused difficulties in control,” it said. “Registration of pilgrims for Kedarnath Yatra has been suspended due to snowfall on Kedarnath path and alert from Dham and weather department,” he added. Meanwhile, the first group of pilgrims from Haridwar left for the Sar Dham Yatra on Saturday. The Yatra started at Yamunotri Dham in honor of Akshaya Tritiya.
