Kedarnath (Uttarakhand) [India], November 1 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami paid obeisance to Lord Shiva at the Kedarnath Dham on Friday.

The doors of Kedarnath Dham will be closing for the winter season on Sunday, November 3 at 8:30 AM. The Kedarnath site opened its doors on April 25.

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Kedarnath is part of one of the four high-altitude Dhams in Uttarakhand, consisting of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath.

The shrines remain shut for around six months every year, opening in the summers during April or May generally, and closing usually around October or November.

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The holy pilgrimage starts from Yamunotri, proceeds towards Gangotri, onto Kedarnath, and finally ends at Badrinath.

This year, there have been more than 40 lakh visitors across all four shrines.

According to the Chief Minister's office, 27,789 pilgrims travelled to the Char Dham on October 14. Out of this, Kedarnath witnessed the highest footfall of 11,309 pilgrims followed by 6644 pilgrims in Badrinath, 2406 in Gangotri, and 3290 in Yamunotri.

This year the Char Dham Yatra started with a delay of 17 days from May 10, whereas last year the opening of the doors of Gangotri and Yamunotri Dham on 23 April started the journey.

The state government had made extensive preparations, with CM Dhami overlooking the preparations for the pilgrimage.

He said that a smooth and organised Char Dham Yatra has been the top priority of the government and it is committed to providing a safe environment to the pilgrims.

"Chardham Yatra is also linked to the economy of the state. In view of the speed with which the number of devotees is increasing in the state today, we have to expand the travel arrangements further. Its exercise has also been started," he added.

Last year 56.13 lakh pilgrims visited during the entire Yatra period. Similarly, 46.29 lakh pilgrims arrived for Char Dham Darshan in the year 2022 and 34.77 lakh pilgrims arrived in the year 2019. The yatra was affected due to corona infection in the years 2020 and 2021. The number of pilgrims in these two years was 3.30 lakh and 5.29 lakh respectively. (ANI)

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