Amid the rising COVID-19 cases and increasing fatalities across the country, the portals of the Gangotri Dham in Uttarakhand opened on Saturday morning.
Traditional rituals were performed on the occasion. Visual showed many participants not wearing face masks.
On May 29, amid the massive surge in coronavirus cases, the Uttarakhand government had suspended the Char Dham Yatra for this year.
The yatra was scheduled to start on May 14. Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat said that only priests of the four temples will perform rituals and puja.
The four pilgrimage sites are Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri in Uttarakhand.
Uttarakhand on Friday reported 5,775 new COVID-19 cases, 4,483 recoveries and 116 deaths.
The number of total cases stands at 2,77,585, including 1,88,690 recoveries and 4,426 deaths. There are currently 79,379 active cases in the state.
( With inputs from ANI )
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