Portals of Badrinath Dham to be closed on Nov 17 for winter session

The portals of the Badrinath Dham in Uttarakhand will be closed for the winter season at 9.07 pm on November 17, the temple committee said on Saturday. As per tradition, the "mahurat" of the closing date and time was decided on the occasion of Vijayadashami on Saturday after an assessment of the Hindu calendar and the position of the celestial bodies, Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee Chairman Ajendra Ajay said. More than 11 lakh pilgrims visited Badrinath this year while Kedarnath witnessed a footfall of over 13.5 lakh devotees. As per an earlier announcement, Kedarnath and Yamunotri will be closed on November 3 and Gangotri on November 2. Similarly, the doors of Rudranath will be closed on October 17, Tungnath on November 4 and Madhyamaheshwar on November 20. The temples in Uttarakhand which draw lakhs of devotees each year from across the country and abroad are closed during winter as they remain covered in snow.