By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
The portals of the Kedarnath temple, situated in the high Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand, were closed for the winter season on Wednesday on the auspicious occasion of Bhai Dooj, marking the end of this year’s pilgrimage to the Himalayan shrine.
Within two hours, the portals of Yamunotri shrine in Uttarkashi district were also closed for winter season with all religious rituals.
The portals of the eleventh Jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva were closed to devotees at 8.30 am following special prayers and religious rituals. The process of closing the temple began early in the morning and the entire Kedarpuri reverberated with chants of ‘Har Har Mahadev’ and ‘Bam Bam Bhole’ as hundreds of devotees gathered to witness the occasion.
The worship of Lord Kedarnath will now be conducted for the next six months at his winter abode, the Omkareshwar temple in Ukhimath.
According to sources in the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC), the ceremonial palanquin of Lord Kedarnath departed for Ukhimath amid religious ceremonies soon after the temple portals were closed.
The palanquin will halt overnight at Rampur on Wednesday and reach Guptkashi on Thursday, November 12. It will proceed to Omkareshwar temple on November 13, where the deity will be worshipped during the winter months.
Hundreds of devotees, a large number of priests, Rudraprayag District Magistrate Vishal Mishra and Superintendent of Police Niharika Tomar, were present on the occasion.
The Kedarnath temple will reopen for devotees in April-May next year. The auspicious date and time for reopening will be announced on the occasion of Maha Shivratri.
According to official figures, more than 19.22 lakh pilgrims had visited the Kedarnath shrine this year till 7 pm on November 10.