Hyderabad: The Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board has postponed the Chardham Yatra for devotees in the wake of wake of Second covid wave.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat on Tuesday urged the devotees to perform prayers at homes.
The CM took to micro-blogging site and wrote, "Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 'Char Dham Yatra' has been temporarily postponed. I request all of you to perform prayers at your homes."
According to the Directorate of Information and Public Relations, only rituals would be performed in the temple and no pilgrims will be allowed.
The portals of the Kedarnath Temple were reopened on Monday amid observation of strict COVID-19 protocols. The gates of the temple were opened at 5 am after a ritualistic ceremony, while Gangotri and Yamunotri temples were reopened on May 14.
According to the Devasthanam Board, Kedarnath is one of the four shrines of the idol of Lord Shiva, which was moved to his winter abode Omkareshwar Temple at Ukhimath and it was reinstalled at Kedarnath on May 14. The portals were closed in November last year for the winter season.
The Chardham Yatra, which includes a visit to the Kedarnath temple, attracts lakhs of tourists and devotees every year from across the country and abroad.
According to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there are 80,000 active cases in Uttarakhand, while 1,98,616 people have recovered from the disease so far. The death toll has mounted to 4,623 in the state.
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