The gates of Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath temple opened early
on Monday, with the opening ceremony being held at 5 am, reported news agency
ANI. Taking to Twitter, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat addressed
the event, at the same time wishing for everyone’s health.

“The doors of the world famous eleventh Jyotirlinga Lord
Kedarnath Dham were opened today at 5 am after rituals and prayers. The temple
was inaugurated on the auspicious coincidence of Aries ascendant. I pray to
Baba Kedarnath to keep everyone healthy”, Rawat tweeted out.

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Rawat also requested devotees to stay put and perform their
rituals from the safety of home.

“The Rawal (Chief Priest) of Kedarnath, under the leadership
of the venerable Shri Bhimashankar Lingam ji, will regularly offer prayers to
Baba Kedar in a limited number of shrines in the temple. I request that during
this time of pandemic, devotees should stay in the house and perform religious rituals”, he further said.

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The temple was closed down last year in November.

Also on Monday, Uttarakhand Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) announced that the ‘Chardham Yatra’ was being suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In view of the COVID pandemic, ‘Chardham Yatra’ is temporarily suspended. Only rituals are being performed with no pilgrims allowed”, ANI quoted the organisation as saying.

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 Earlier in May, the
idol of Lord Shiva was shifted out of its winter abode, the Omkareshwar temple
located in the Rudraprayag district, back into the Kedarnath shrine.

Preparations for opening temples in the state, as per
earlier reports by ANI, started off in April, with Chardham Devasthanam Board
officials and various departments working in tandem to make necessary
arrangements.