Badrinath Temple opens portals, no devotees allowed; first prayers offered on Narendra Modi's behalf

Badrinath Temple opened its portals on Friday, 15 May at 4.30am amid the ongoing coronavirus lockdown. Located in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, it is one of the four temples which are part of the Char Dham Yatra and is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The other dhams are Yamunotri, Gangotri and Kedarnath. [caption id=“attachment_2778024” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Badrinath Temple. Wikimedia commons[/caption] News agency ANI tweeted that 28 people, including the chief priest, were present at the temple when its portals opened. The shrine was decorated with strings of marigold at the time of opening. The Times of India reported that much like the other three dhams, the first prayer was offered on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Uttarakhand tourism minister Satpal Maharaj was quoted in the report as saying that presently only religious rituals are being performed at the Char Dham shrines and it is not open for devotees. “However, we have requested the Centre to open the yatra for people living in green zone districts of Uttarakhand,” he added. Religious ceremonies were also held on Wednesday at the Narsingh temple in Joshimath, ahead of the opening of Badrinath temple. Manujendra Shah, the king of the Tehri royal family, had on 20 April changed the date of opening of the portals of Badrinath as the chief priest was under quarantine after returning from Kerala. This is the first time in history that such a change was initiated. The doors of Kedarnath Temple were opened on 29 April after a six-month-long winter break.