Dehradun: The sacred portals of Badrinath were closed for the winter season on Saturday with over five thousand devotees turning up at the Himalayan temple to witness the colourful closure ceremony. The gates of the temple dedicated to Bhagwan Vishnu were closed at 3.35 pm amid the chants of Jai Badri Vishal and devotional tunes paid by Garhwal scouts.
The closure of the temple took place after its chief priest Rawal Ishwari Prasad Namboodiri, dressed like a woman as per tradition, established goddess Lakshmi inside the sanctum sanctorum. With the closure of Badrinath, this year's Char Dham Yatra which received more than 61 lakh pilgrims breaking all past records, comes to an end.
Badrinath in particular received a total of 17,65,649 pilgrims this year which is also a record. The other Himalayan temples in the Char Dham circuit including Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri were closed last month. It was after a gap of two years that the Char Dham Yatra took place this year without the Covid protocol in force.
Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee chairman Ajendra Ajay and Vice Chairman Kishor Panwar were among a host of officials who visited the temple on the day of its closure for which it was decorated with tons of marigold flowers. (PTI)
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