look news india
With the onset of winter and the beginning of the countdown for the closing of the doors of the eleventh Jyotirlinga Lord Kedarnath Dham for the winter holidays, the country’s first citizen President Draupadi Murmu is visiting Uttarakhand to visit Baba Kedar. As per the scheduled itinerary, the President will reach Kedarnath Dham on November 2 and perform Rudrabhishek and special puja in the sanctum sanctorum. This year, the doors of Kedarnath Dham are to be formally closed for winter on the auspicious occasion of Bhaiya Dooj on 11th November at 8:30 am. In such a situation, just nine days before the closing of the doors, the Uttarakhand Government, Police Headquarters and Rudraprayag District Administration have come in full alert mode regarding the proposed high-level visit of His Excellency.
Based on primary information received from Rashtrapati Bhavan and State Protocol Department, the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police of Uttarakhand have started a detailed review of the preparations related to security arrangements, VVIP movement, helicopter operations and health services. Kedarnath Dham is situated at an altitude of more than 11,755 feet above sea level, where temperatures are dropping below zero these days and seasonal snowfall has also been recorded recently. Keeping in view the sensitivity of the weather and the safety of His Majesty, tight security cordon is being planned from the Dham complex to all the major transit points.
According to administrative sources, the outline of the President’s two-day stay in Uttarakhand has been decided as follows:
-
Arrival in Dehradun on 1st November: President Draupadi Murmu will reach Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun on November 1 at around 4:45 pm by a special Air Force plane. After being welcomed there by the Governor and the Chief Minister, she will leave for Rashtrapati Niketan (Lok Bhavan) located on Rajpur Road. The President will stay for the night in Dehradun only.
-
Flight to Kedarnath on 2nd November: On the morning of 2nd November, the President will fly directly to the VVIP helipad at Kedarnath Dham in a special helicopter of the Air Force.
-
Special worship of Baba Kedar: From the helipad, the President will reach the temple complex via all-weather route, where she will perform special Shodashopachar puja and prayers for public welfare in the presence of chief priests and officials of the Badri-Kedar Temple Committee (BKTC).
-
Return to Delhi: After offering prayers and observing the ongoing reconstruction work in the Dham, the President will return to Jolly Grant Airport by afternoon and leave for New Delhi from there.
To make the President’s Kedarnath visit safe and error-free, the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police of Rudraprayag have decided the responsibilities by holding a meeting with all the concerned departments. The following special measures are being taken for security reasons:
-
Coordination of Special Protection Group (SPG) and Police: Before the arrival of His Majesty, SPG and Special Security Branch of Uttarakhand Police will complete a joint security audit (ASL – Advance Security Liaison) of the temple area, helipad and the entire surrounding route.
-
Backup Helipad Arrangement: In view of the risk of sudden deterioration in weather at high altitude, apart from the Kedarnath main helipad, emergency alternative (standby) helipads are being kept ready at Guptkashi, Sersi, Fata and Gauchar.
-
State-of-the-art health and oxygen facilities: In view of the falling temperature and lack of oxygen in the Dham, 24-hour availability of specialist doctors, cardiologists and ambulances and ventilators equipped with Advanced Life Support (ALS) is being ensured in Kedarnath Hospital.
-
Crowd and View Management: At the time of the President’s darshan, the entry of common devotees into the sanctum sanctorum and main courtyard of the temple will be controlled for some time so that the safety standards can be strictly followed, however, the administration is also taking care that there is minimum inconvenience to the common pilgrims coming from far off places.
The Chardham Yatra of the year 2026 has reached its final and decisive phase. This year, the number of devotees visiting Kedarnath Dham has created a new history and till now more than 17.84 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance before Baba Kedar. According to the traditional calendar calculation, on the day of Bhaiya Dooj i.e. 11th November, the doors of Kedarnath temple will be closed for winter with Vedic chanting in the morning, after which the Panchmukhi Chal Vigrah Utsav Doli of Baba Kedar will depart for its winter seat Omkareshwar Temple, Ukhimath.
Before the doors are closed, this religious visit of President Draupadi Murmu is considered very encouraging for the devotees of the entire country and the pilgrim priest community of Uttarakhand. The temple committee has also completed preparations to present Brahmakamal, Bhasma and special memento as Prasad to His Majesty.