Winter Char Dham pilgrimage records footfall of 31,000 so far

Over 31,000 pilgrims have visited the winter abodes of Char Dham shrines in Uttarakhand so far since the pilgrimage kicked off on December 8 last year, officials aware of the matter said.

- HT Correspondent

MUSSOORIE:

After the portals of the Char Dham shrines are closed for winter months, the deities of these shrines are moved in palanquins to their winter abodes at lower elevations at specific temples and shrines.

The winter abode of Kedarnath Dham is Ukhimath, while that of Badrinath Dham is Pandukeshwar (Jyotirmath). The winter abode of Gangotri Dham is Mukhba, while that of Yamunotri Dham is Kharsali.

The deities were moved from the Char Dham shrines on 24 November and the winter yatra was formally inaugurated on December 8 by chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.

According to the state emergency control centre Dehradun, over 31,600 pilgrims have visited the winter abodes so far. Of these 13,657 devotees have visited the winter abode of Lord Badrinath at Pandukeshwar, 12,264 devotees have thronged the winter abode of Kedarnath at Ukhimath, 4,524 devotees have visited Mukhba the winter abode of Goddess Ganga and 1,143 have visited Kharsali, the winter abode of Goddess Yamuna so far.