Evening 'aarti' resumes after 12 years at Mandakini-Saraswati confluence in Kedarnath

Dehradun, May 8 (PTI) The evening 'aarti' on the confluence of the Mandakini and Saraswati rivers in Kedarnath has been resumed after a gap of 12 years.

It was suspended since June, 2013 when thousands of people were killed at the Himalayan temple in a catastrophic deluge, also known as the "Himalayan Tsunami".

The evening aarti at the Sangam of the two rivers in Kedarnath was resumed on May 4, two days after the doors of the temple were opened for devotees on May 2, Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee chairman Hemant Dwivedi said.

It is being performed every day by the 'teerth purohits' (pilgrimage priests) with the cooperation of Shri Kedar Sabha even if the weather is bad at the temple, he said.

Uttarakhand Tourism Secretary Sachin Kurve had instructed the temple committee to resume the evening aarti at the confluence this year. PTI ALM ALM KSS KSS