Portals of Badrinath open, temple adorned with 15 tons of flowers

Badrinath | The portals of the Badrinath temple in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district were opened for devotees on Sunday after a six-month closure.

Amid Vedic chants, the doors of the temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu were opened at 6 am.

Fifteen tons of flowers of various varieties adorned the temple and an Indian Army played devotional music on the occasion.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state unit president Mahendra Bhatt and Tehri MLA Kishore Upadhyay were present for the ceremony.

Flowers were showered on the devotees from a helicopter for around 10 minutes.

Sounds of drumbeats, tunes of Army bands and thousands of devotees chanting 'Jai Badri Vishal' rang throughout.

Women from Mana and Bemni villages performed the Jhumailo dance in the temple premises and devotees from other states sang 'bhajans'.

The chief minister said that the state government has made all the necessary arrangements for a safe and smooth Chardham Yatra. He also urged the devotees to cooperate in the government's efforts to make it a "green and clean" yatra.

A special prayer was first performed in the temple by the chief priest of Badrinath Dham, Rawal, Dharmadhikari and Vedpathis.

As per rituals, Goddess Lakshmi was taken out of the sanctum sanctorum and made to circumambulate the temple and later seated inside the Lakshmi temple. After this, Lord Kuber and Lord Uddhav were seated in the sanctum sanctorum of Badrinath temple.

Along with the main temple, the doors of Ganesh, Ghantakarna, Adi Kedareshwar, Adi Guru Shankaracharya Temple and Mata Murti Temple situated in the Badrinath Dham have also been opened for the devotees.

Officials here said the local administration has completed all the necessary preparations to make the journey to the Dham safe and smooth.

With the opening of the doors of Badrinath, this year's Char Dham Yatra has started in full swing.

Every year after Diwali, the doors of the Char Dhams -- Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri -- are closed for devotees. The portals reopen in April-May the following year.

During the six-month-long pilgrimage, lakhs of devotees from across the country and abroad visit the Char Dhams.

The portals of the Himalayan temple Kedarnath were opened on Friday last. Gangotri and Yamunotri temples were opened on April 30