Dehradun, Feb 4 (PTI) Priests of Char Dham called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Tuesday to invite them to reopening of the portals of the famous Himalayan temples of Uttarakhand.
The portals of Badrinath are scheduled to reopen after the winter break on May 4 while the dates for the reopening of the other three temples including Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri will be announced soon.
The priests thanked the prime minister for the construction of all-weather roads, plans for beautification of the temples and efforts being made for creating better passenger facilities, saying they have increased the grandeur of the temples, Pauri Garhwal MP Anil Baluni who accompanied the delegation said in a post on X.
"Due to the vision of the Prime Minister, the Dhams are improving in accordance with the Sanatan beliefs. This is the golden age of restoration of mythological traditions. May our deities give you strength, may the country sit on the throne as developed India under your leadership," Baluni quoted the priests as saying at their meeting with Modi.
The priests also met Home Minister Shah and invited him to the opening of the doors of the Char Dhams for the upcoming season.
They described ongoing construction works around the temples and upgradation of facilities as "extraordinary".
In view of the increasing number of pilgrims, upgrading the infrastructure will be a great convenience for the devotees, the priests said.
"These are our centres of faith, which inspire us to follow the right path. We are continuously working to preserve, develop and organize them in accordance with traditions," Shah told the delegation of priests.
The delegation included president of Chardham Joint Conservation Committee Ashok Semwal, convenor Mahant Ajay Puri, vice presidents Pawan Uniyal, Laxminarayan Jugran, Bhaskar Dimri, general secretary Abhishek Ahluwalia, joint secretary Pratik Karnawal, Arun Bagwadi, Satish Lakhera and Pradeep Semwal. PTI ALM ALM KVK KVK