File photo of Kedarnath Shrine (Press Trust of India)
This year's Kedarnath Yatra, dedicated to Lord Shiva, will end on October 25.
The portals of the Kedarnath shrine located on the hills of Garhwal will close for pilgrims on the day of Bhai Dooj on October 25, said Deputy chairman of Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee Madhu Bhatt.
Mr Bhatt said this year there has been a decline in the number of pilgrims coming for the yatra.
"This year, a little more than 40,000 pilgrims have come here. Before the occurrence of the natural calamity last year, more than 6 lakh pilgrims used to visit in a year," he said.
Mr Bhatt said last year's devastating floods and frequent disruption of the yatra due to bad weather could be the reason for the decline in the number of visitors this year.
He said the calamity has affected the number of visitors to Badrinath Dham also.
"Nearly 9 lakh pilgrims used to come to the Badrinath Dham every year, but this time only 1.5 lakh people have come so far," he said.
The portals of the Badrinath shrine will close on November 27 this year.
Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri are the four shrines that together comprise the Char Dham.
The portals of Yamunotri and Gangotri shrines will also close for pilgrims next week.
While Gangotri will close on the next day of Diwali (October 24) Yamunotri will also close on Bhai Dooj.