By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
After Gangotri and Yamunotri, the portals of Kedarnath, one of the most sacred Hindu shrines in Uttarakhand, were reopened on Wednesday after a gap of six months.
Amid chanting of Vedic hymns and other Hindu rituals, the doors of Kedarnath temple, nestling in the lofty peaks in Rudraprayag district, were reopened at sharp 8 AM with priests offering prayers as the temple premises was beautified with marigold and other flowers.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami flew to Kedarnath and offered prayers.
The Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand had begun on Sunday with the reopening of the portals of the Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines on the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya.
For the first time, the entry of non-Hindus into the three temples except Yamunotri has been restricted.
The portals of the Badrinath Temple—located in Chamoli district—will open on April 23.
This year, a ban has been imposed on the entry of non-Hindus into three of the four Char Dham shrines – Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath as non-Hindus will be required to fulfill specific conditions in order to gain entry into these temples. In contrast, there will be no such restriction in the Yamunotri Temple.
The use of mobile phones and cameras by devotees within the temple complexes of all four Chardham shrines has been strictly prohibited this year.
Despite frequent disruptions caused by natural calamities, the Char Dham Yatra attracted over 51 lakh devotees last year. This year, too, immense enthusiasm for the Char Dham pilgrimage is evident among devotees; according to official statistics, approximately 1.9 million pilgrims have already registered—both online and offline—for the Yatra.
