Uttarakhand CM Dhami offers first prayers at Gangotri as Char Dham Yatra kicks off

The first prayers offered at the Gangotri Dham today, were by Uttarakhand Chief Minister, in the name of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

 

He reached the Dham with an offering of fruits to chants of Ganga Maiyya ki jai.

 

The CM said that he had prayed for the well-being of the people of Uttarakhand.

 

He described the Yatra as a ‘maha utsav’ (grand celebration).

 

On criticism that preparations for the Yatra were not complete, he said that everyone should contribute to making the Yatra successful and easy for pilgrims.

 

Given the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, the state has also started more stringent security checks on the identities of all pilgrims and also of those residing in the state.

 

Dhami will also offer prayers at Yamunotri later today.

 

While the portals of the Yamunotri and the Gangotri Dham were thrown open today, Kedar Nath will open on Friday, followed by Badri Nath on Sunday.

 

An expected 7000 pilgrims are to reach Yamnotri and 5000 will be at Gangotri today.

 

So far, there have been 22.11 lakh registrations for the Yatra. With 3.6 lakh registrations, Maharashtra tops the list. It is followed by Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. As for devotees from abroad, the greatest number of registrations—4991—have come from America. This is followed by Nepal, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom.

 

In addition, 24,000 plus heli tickets have been booked so far.

 

The traditional order for the Char Dham Yatra is Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and finally, Badrinath, which has a spiritual significance. In the Hindu scriptures, pilgrimages should start in the west and move towards the east.

 

The mahurat for the Gangotri dham was 10.30am today, followed by Yamunotri dham at 11.55am.

 

On their respective days, the portals of Kedarnath will be thrown open at 7am, while Badrinath will be ready to receive devotees at 6am.

India