Rudraprayag, 11 March 2021: Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board informed on Thursday that the doors of the Lord Kedarnath Dham will open on 17 May from 5 pm. Lord Shiva’s idol was moved to his winter abode Omkareshwar Temple at Ukhimath and now will be reinstalled at Kedarnath.

The opening date of Uttarakhand’s four Dhams has also been fixed. The valleys of Badrinath Dham in Chamoli district will be opened for devotees on 18 May at 4.15 am. The doors will be opened on the occasion of Basant Panchami in Narerndranagar Rajdarwar. The door of Gangotri and Yamunotri open on the day of Akshaya Tritiya every year.

Last year Corona had a big impact on the Chardham Yatra. The total number of pilgrims who reached all the Dhams was 4.48 lakhs. The annual revenue of 55 crores has also been reduced to eight crores this time. The pilgrims arriving in the Dham in Yamunotri Dham did not reach even ten thousand. Only eight thousand devotees arrived in Yamunotri this year.

Due to Corona, the valleys did not open on time. Even after the doors were opened, devotees were not allowed to visit. The activity was limited to just the pooja recitation. In the first phase, only those within the district were approved and devotees from within the state were allowed through ePass in the second phase. In the third phase, people from outside the state were approved with all conditions.

Due to these restrictions and Corona, the number of devotees remained limited, which affected the revenue collection. Donations were reduced to eight crores from fifty-five Crore.