Kedarnath Dham closed for winter season

The sacred portals of the Kedarnath Dham located in the high Garhwal Himalayan region of Uttarakhand were closed for winter.

Sources in the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee said the doors of the temple were closed for the devotees at 8.30 am after offering prayers amid chanting of vedic hymns, PTI reported.

More than 3,000 devotees along with temple committee president Ajendra Ajay, teerth purohit and officials of the Rudraprayag district administration were present on the occasion, while the Indian Army's 11th Maratha Regiment played devotional tunes.

Over 43 lakh pilgrims reached Chardham this year. In Kedarnath alone, 15,61,882 devotees paid obeisance at the temple. The media in-charge of the temple committee, Dr. Harish Gaur said the Kedarnath temple opened its portals at 3 am and the process of closing the doors for the winter started at 4 am.