President Pranab Mukherjee to attend Kedarnath temple’s opening ceremony

CM Harish Rawat met President Mukherjee in New Delhi on Thursday and requested him to attend the ceremony. (Source: Twitter)

President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday accepted Chief Minister Harish Rawat’s invitation to visit the Kedarnath temple’s Kapat (portals) opening ceremony which is scheduled for April 24. The doors of Kedarnath will be opened for devotees on the same 24th April.

A press release, issued by the state’s Information department, said CM Rawat met President Mukherjee in New Delhi on Thursday and requested him to attend the ceremony. The release added President Mukherjee has given his consent to attend the ceremony.

More than 20 months after the 2013 Uttarakhand disaster caused by the flash floods, floods and landslides, President’s consent to visit the Kedarnath temple is considered to be important in view of the state government’s efforts to restore the confidence of devotees in undertaking Chardham Yatra — Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri — in Uttarakhand. The Kedarnath region had faced maximum impact of the 2013 Uttarakhand disaster.

Uttarakhand government has already undertaken a special exercise to give a new shape to the Kedarnath temple area. Despite facing adverse weather conditions, a team from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) has been continuing restoration works in Kedarnath temple area. Several new cottages have been built to accommodate the devotees. The trek route was already built before the beginning of Kedarnath Yatra in 2014.

Source:: Indian Express