Badrinath Dham Opening BIG Update: Gates to open from THIS date, BKTC starts preparations for Annual yatra, officials say…

New Delhi: Good news for the pilgrims who are planning to visit Badrinath Dham, the authorities have announced the date for the opening of the portals of Badrinath Dham will be decided in accordance with tradition on 23 January. It is important to note that the opening of portals will be held on the occasion of Vasant Panchami (the fifth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Magh), at the Tehri royal court in Narendra Nagar.

The office-bearers of the Badrinath–Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) will hand over the oil kalash (sacred oil vessel) to the Dimri Religious Central Panchayat at the Shri Nrisingh Temple in Jyotirmath on Tuesday.

Talking about the preparations, BKTC Chairman Hemant Dwivedi said that authorities have begun the preparations for fixing the date of the opening of the portals and for the upcoming Char Dham Yatra. Once the opening date is finalized, the travel plans and operational arrangements for the pilgrimage will be given final shape.

BKTC Media In-charge Harish Gaur stated that for this pilgrimage year, the date for opening the portals of Kedarnath Dham will be decided in accordance with tradition on 15 February, on the occasion of Shivratri, at the Panch Kedar Gaddi Sthal, Shri Omkareshwar Temple, Ukhimath.

Here are some of the key details:

• A religious ceremony will begin at 10:30 am on 23 January to determine the date for the opening of the portals of Badrinath Dham.
• The ceremony will be held at the Tehri Royal Palace in Narendra Nagar
• During this ceremony, the opening date of the portals for this pilgrimage year will be formally announced.
• The date of the Gadu Ghada (oil kalash) yatra will also be decided.
• In the ceremony, the examining the birth horoscope of Maharaja Manujyendra Shah will be done
• During the ceremony, the royal priest Acharya Krishna Prasad Uniyal, following almanac (panchang) calculations, will determine the date for the opening of the portals of Badrinath Dham.
• On Tuesday, BKTC officials will hand over the Oil Kalash to the Dimri Religious Central Panchayat at Shri Nrisingh Temple, Jyotirmath.

Led by Dimri Religious Central Panchayat President Ashutosh Dimri, along with other panchayat representatives, the Oil Kalash (Gadu Ghada) will be taken after worship at Shri Nrisingh Temple, Jyotirmath, and Shri Yogbadri, Pandukeshwar, and then via Shri Lakshmi Narayan Temple, Dimmar, it will reach the BKTC’s Chandrabhaga Dharamshala in Rishikesh on 22 January.

On the morning of 23 January, the Dimri Panchayat representatives will reach Narendra Nagar and hand over the Gadu Ghada to the Royal Palace, before the date for opening the portals is finalized.