On the "auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya", the portals of the world-famous Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines have been opened for devotees amid chanting of Vedic mantras. According to the schedule, the portals of Gangotri Dham have been opened at 12.35 pm on Saturday and the Yamunotri Dham at 12.41 pm.
Now for the next six months, devotees will be able to worship 'Maa Ganga' in Gangotri and 'Maa Yamuna' in Yamunotri Dham. On behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami offered his first puja and prayed for the prosperity of Uttarakhand and the country.
With this, the world-famous Chardham Yatra started on Saturday. Now in the next phase, the portals of Shri Kedarnath Dham will open on April 25 and of Shri Badrinath Dham on April 27. On reaching Devbhoomi, the pilgrims were welcomed by showering flowers from the helicopter.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj said, "Given the encouraging number of pilgrims coming to the Chardham Yatra, male and female "Tourism Assistance and Safety Friends" are being deployed through outsourced mode for the safety and assistance of pilgrims. He informed that 16,89,496 (sixteen lakh eighty thousand four hundred and twenty-six) pilgrims have registered themselves under the registration of Chardham and Hemkund Sahib pilgrims which started from February 18 this year.
"On the arrival of 'Utsav Doli' of Maa Ganga, the portals of the shrine were opened for devotees on the occasion of 'Sarvath Amrit Siddha Yog' after performing Ganga Pujan, Ganga Sahasranama recitation and special pujas," Gangotri Temple Committee president Harish Semwal told this newspaper.
Yamunotri Temple Committee Secretary Suresh Uniyal told this daily, "Led by Shani Dev, the doli of Maa Yamuna left Kharsali village for Yamunotri Dham at 8 am on Saturday". After offering prayers and performing Havan, the portals of the shrine have been opened for devotees in 'Abhijeet Muhurat' amid chanting of Vedic mantras.
According to the status of registration of pilgrims in various dhams, so far 600434 for Kedarnath, 507759 for Badrinath, 307068 for Gangotri, 262621 for Yamunotri and 11614 for Hemkund have registered themselves.