Badrinath portals to open on April 27

Dehradun: The sacred portals of the Badrinath temple in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district will open at 7:10 am on April 27, authorities said on Thursday.

As per tradition, the time and date for the opening of the famous temple were decided at a religious ceremony held at the erstwhile Tehri royal palace in Narendra Nagar on the occasion of Basant Panchami, the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee said.

The 'Gaadu Ghada' (oil pitcher) yatra will begin on April 12, it said.

As part of the yatra, a pitcher containing sesame oil is carried to the Himalayan temple ahead of its opening every year.

The portals of Badrinath, a temple dedicated to Hindu deity Vishnu were closed for the winter season on November 19. It remains snowbound throughout winter and is reopened at the start of summer.