Badrinath shrine shuts for winter break

Dehradun, Nov 20 (IANS) The portals of the Badrinath temple were closed for the winter break on Tuesday amid rituals and chanting of hymns, authorities said. The gates were closed at 3:21 p.m.Badrinath was the last of the four shrines - Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri -- to close for the six-month winter break.Officials said 5,237 pilgrims visited the flower-decked shrine of Badrinath on the last day of the year's 'dharshan'. Bands played religious tunes as the gates closed.The gates of the Kedarnath and Yamunotri shrines closed for the winter recess on November 9 while the Gangotri temple closed on November 8. Lakhs of pilgrims flock to this shrines in summers every year. Barring disruption by landslides and catastrophic flash floods that killed thousands in 2013 in Kedarnath, the pilgrimage continues to be a big draw for Hindu devotees.
--IANS md/prs