Kedarnath temple opens amid lockdown, pilgrims still restricted

The gates of Kedarnath temple, the eleventh Jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva in Uttarakhand opened for the first time on Wednesday morning after a lockdown was imposed to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The doors of the temple were opened in the Aries Lagna at 0610 hrs with Vedic chanting without any noise. After the opening of the door, the first puja and Rudra Abhishek was performed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Gorgeously decorated with 10 quintal flowers in collaboration with the donor of Rishikesh, the process of opening the doors of Baba Kedar's Dham was performed, keeping physical and social distance. It had started at 0300 hrs.

Uttarakhand Chardham Devasthanam Board officials BD Singh, Tehsildar Jaibir Ram Badhani and Police Out-of-Charge Manjul Rawat were present at the main gate on the occasion. The priest Shivshankar Ling performed Rudrabhishek and Jalabhishek Puja and performed Jalabhisheka to Lord Kedarnath.

On opening of the temple, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj issued a video message and prayed to Baba Kedarnath to fulfill everyone's wishes.

There is a ban on travel under government consultation in the four dhams and the doors have been opened so that the Rawal and the priest could perform regular worship at their level.