Heavy snowfall delays departure of CMs Adityanath, Rawat from Kedarnath

Heavy snowfall on Monday delayed the departure of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his Uttarakhand counterpart Trivendra Singh Rawat for Badrinath after they had offered prayers at Kedarnath temple and attended a ceremony for the closure of its portals for winter.             

The two chief ministers had arrived at Kedarnath on Sunday and were scheduled to leave for Badrinath temple after the closure of Kedarnath gates at 8.30 AM on Monday.

Heavy snowfall began at Kedarnath on Sunday night and continued till Monday, delaying their departure. Both the chief ministers, however, appeared to be enjoying the snowfall.

 "Snow is the apparel of Baba Kedar. The snowfall is also good for the crops. It  (snowfall) is a shower of divine blessings," Rawat told reporters in Kedarnath.

 When asked about their delayed departure, Rawat said with a smile, "We would follow Baba Kedar's commands."         An information department official in Chamoli said the two chief ministers were in Kedarnath as their helicopter could not take off due to the inclement weather.

The chief ministers were scheduled to offer prayers at Badrinath temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Yogi also had to lay the foundation stone of a tourist guest house at Badrinath to be built by the Uttar Pradesh government. There has been heavy snowfall in Badrinath too. The portals of Kedarnath and Yamunotri temples were closed for winter on Monday.