Badrinath opens for pilgrims, first puja done on behalf of PM Modi

The portals of the Badrinath temple in Uttarakhand were opened on Thursday and the first puja was done on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the shrine's committee said.

Thousands of pilgrims had gathered at the Himalayan shrine amid light snowfall and rain to witness the opening of the temple at 7:10 am. They also paid obeisance to lord Vishnu to whom the temple is dedicated to.

The temple was decorated with 15 quintals of flowers for the occasion, and after the opening ceremony, its chief priest Ishwari Prasad Namboodiri performed a special puja inside the sanctum sanctorum, praying for the wellbeing of everyone.

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The first puja was done on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee said.

Flower petals were also showered on pilgrims from a helicopter.

With the opening of Badrinath on Thursday, all Char Dham temples in Uttarakhand are now open for pilgrims. Gangotri and Yamunotri opened on April 22 and Kedarnath on April 25.

The temples are closed every year at the onset of winter during which they remain snowbound and reopened with the start of summer.

Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee chairman Ajendra Ajay and a number of administrative officials besides thousands of devotees were present on the occasion.

With the opening of the temple, visitors have begun to gather at other places of religious and tourist interest around Badrinath such as Bhu-Baikunth dham, Tapt Kund, Narad Kund, Shesh Netra lake, Neel Kanth Shikhar, Urvashi Mandir, Brahma Kapal, Mata Murti Mandir and the country's first village on the India-China border Mana.