By Our Staff Reporter
Yamunotri/ Dehradun. 6 Nov: The portals of Yamunotri Dham were closed at 12.15 pm today on the occasion of Bhaiya Dooj, for the winter season. It may be noteworthy that according to the scriptures, river Yamuna is known as sister of Yamraj, the king of hell. At the time of closure of the portals, all due rituals and pujas were performed at the shrine.
A large number of Teerth Purohits, devotees and the local people were present on the occasion of the closure of the portals. After the closure of the portals, Utsav Doli with the cheers of Mother Yamuna left for Kharsali, the winter seat of Yamuna deity.
Governor Lt-General (Retd) Gurmeet Singh and Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj along with Ravinath Raman, Commissioner Garhwal and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Uttarakhand Chardham Devasthanam Management Board have conveyed their best wishes on the conclusion of Yatra for the season.
District Magistrate Uttarkashi, Mayur Dixit informed that this year more than thirty three thousand pilgrims reached Yamunotri Dham while 33,166 pilgrims reached Gangotri Dham. A total of more than 66,000 pilgrims reached Gangotri-Yamunotri Dham. It may be recalled that the Yatra season was severely curtailed due to Corona and later due to ban on the Yatra by the Uttarakhand High Court.
Dixit said that despite the corona period and adverse weather, the pilgrimage was conducted smoothly with the mutual coordination of all the departments. On the occasion of the closure of the portals, former Minister of State Jagveer Bhandari, ex-officio President / SDM Barkot Shalini Negi, Police Officer Anuj Arya, Deputy CMO Dr RC Arya, Secretary of the temple committee Suresh Uniyal, Vice President Rajswaroop Uniyal, Pyare Lal Uniyal, Jai Prakash Uniyal, Anirudh Uniyal, Purushottam Uniyal were among those present besides a large number of Teerth Purohits and devotees. According to the information received today, the Utsav Doli of Mother Ganga has been seated in Mukhwa, the winter abode of deity Ganga.
