Modi offers prayers at Kedarnath, to visit Badrinath today
| Date :19-May-2019 |
KEDARNATH (U’khand)
PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday offered prayers at the Himalayan shrine of Kedarnath, a day after campaigning for the general election came to a close. On Sunday, he is expected to be in Badrinath, another temple in Uttarakhand’s ‘char dham’ religious circuit. Dressed in a grey traditional pahari attire, Modi offered prayers for about 30 minutes and undertook a circumambulation of the Kedarnath shrine situated at a height of 11,755 feet near the Mandakini river.
The Prime Minister then went inside a cave near the shrine to medidate. Draped in a saffron shawl, Modi was seen meditating at the holy cave. Rudraprayag’s District Collector Mangesh ghildiyal said devotees were not allowed to enter inside the temple premises when Modi was offering prayers. This is Modi’s fourth visit to the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in the last two years.
The portals of Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines reopened for devotees earlier this month after the winter break. BJP Uttarakhand president Ajay Bhatt said Modi’s trip is “just a spiritual visit”, and the people of the State are excited for it. Stringent security arrangements were made for the Prime Minister’s visit, Director General of Police (law and order) Ashok Kumar said.
The Prime Minister arrived at the Jolly Grant airport on Saturday morning and then went directly to Kedarnath, officials said. EC gave its nod to the visit while “reminding” the Prime Minister’s Office that the Model Code of Conduct is still in force.