As the portals of one of the country's holiest sites, Kedarnath Dham, opened for devotees after a gap of six months, the first puja was performed in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami along with his wife Geeta Dhami offered prayers at Kedarnath temple on the day of its opening on Akshaya Tritiya.
Amid the preparations for opening the portals, popular tourist sites such as Sonprayag and Gaurikund are drawing huge crowds, with the majority of them heading in the direction of the Kedarnath Dham.
"The preparations for the opening of the doors are going on in full swing and the temple is being decorated with 40 quintals of flowers," said Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) President Ajendra Ajay.
As the doors of Kedarnath Dham are opening on May 10, Baba Kedarnath's Panchmukhi Doli departed for its second stop Phata from Vishwanath Temple Guptkashi.
Preparations for the grand opening of the doors of Kedarnath's temple have officially begun. In the process of preparations, the Dev Doli of the Panchmukhi idol of Baba Kedarnath will depart for its first stop in Guptakashi from Shri Omkareshwar Temple, Ukhimath, shortly today (May 6).
Ahead of the Char Dham Yatra 2024, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami virtually flagged off 300 'Sevadars' of the 'Bhandara Program' running along with the Baba Kedarnath Doli Yatra from Uttarakhand Sadan in Delhi on Sunday.
To ensure a safe and secure Char Dham yatra, scheduled to commence on May 10, Uttarakhand police have deployed forces, separately at all four Dhams on the yatra routes.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday said that all the preparations have been done for Char Dham Yatra and around 16 lakh people have registered for the Yatra.