With the onset of winter, the sacred portals of the famous Gangotri shrine in Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand were closed today amid chanting of Vedic hymns and elaborate rituals.
Suresh Semwal, the head priest of the shrine, located in Uttarkashi district, locked its doors at 11.15 AM in the presence of religious heads and senior administrative officials including District Magistrate Pankaj Pandey.
Braving biting cold, devotees thronged the high-altitude shrine which is one of the Char Dhams, to witness the annual event, said Semwal who is also the secretary of Gangotri temple committee.
After the formal closure of the famed shrine, the idol of Goddess Ganga was carried in a palanquin to nearby Mukhba village where she will be worshipped during her winter sojourn.
The portals of the shrine, which draws a large number of devotees from all over the country, are closed in October-November every year due to snow all around.
The shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri are commonly known as Char Dham.
