Kedarnath (Uttarakhand): The portals of famous Kedarnath shrine have been closed for the winter following which the palanquin of the deity Baba Panchmukhi was taken out for migration.
The portals of the shrine were closed at 8:30 am today amid snowfall.
The palanquin of baba will reach Rampur today and later it will be taken to Vishwanath Temple on November 17 and to Utsaveshwar Temple on November 18.
As the valley and the surrounding hills received fresh spells of snowfall, causing a significant dip in the temperature levels, the shrine was covered in a layer of snow.
The revered shrine is located in the Garhwal Himalayan range near the Mandakini river - a 22-kilometre uphill trek from Gaurikund.
The devotees who reached Kedarnath on the occasion were seen enjoying the snowfall.
Trees and houses were seen covered in white sparkling snow making the place magnificent for tourists for the winters.
Also read: Chief ministers of UP and Uttarakhand visit Kedarnath
People visited Kedarnath in Rudraprayag district amid a light snowfall.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Uttarakhand forecast, the state will witness very light to light rainfall/snowfall at a few places in Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Bageshwar and Pithoragarh districts and at isolated places in Tehri, Dehradun and Almora districts here.
Moreover, dry weather likely to prevail in the remaining districts of the state. Snowfall is likely to occur at isolated places with height 3,000 m and above.
Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Yogi Adityanath and Trivendra Singh Rawat had arrived at the Kedarnath temple to offer prayers and participate in the portal closing ceremony of the shrine in the early hours of Monday. Adityanath and Rawat witnessed snowfall in the Kedarnath temple area as they entered the shrine here.
With inputs from ANI
