PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The Mandakini-Ganga Arti resumed on the banks of the Mandakini in Kedarnath after more than a decade. The Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) facilitated the resumption of this ritual with the Shri Kedar Sabha on May 4. The BKTC chairman Hemant Dwivedi has hailed the resumption of the sacred ritual in Kedarnath.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Arti used to be held regularly in Kedarnath in the past. However, the 2013 disaster resulted in disruption of this ritual. Tourism secretary Sachin Kurve had directed the temple committee to resume the Arti at the confluence of Saraswati and Mandakini in Kedarnath. The ritual is being conducted regularly now by the temple committee with the involvement of Teerth Purohits in Kedarnath.
At a time when the weather has taken a turn with rain and hail being witnessed in Kedarnath too, the Arti is being conducted regularly and a considerable number of devotees are attending it. The temple committee’s chief officer in-charge/executive engineer Anil Dhyani informed that the Arti is being held following the directions of the Tourism secretary and BKTC CEO Vijay Prasad Thapliyal. The BKTC media in-charge Harish Gaur said that the Ganga Arti is being held daily on the banks of the Mandakini in Kedarnath and will be continued till the portals are closed to the public in the winter.
