The portals of the Himalayan shrine of Badrinath were closed for winter on Saturday.
The season saw very few visitors.
“This year, the shrine received 1.8 lakh pilgrims. However, before the 2013 deluge, 12 lakh pilgrims used to visit the shrine every yatra season,” Chamoli District Magistrate S.A. Murugesan said.
Winter tourism to Pandukeshwar, 17 kilometres ahead of Badrinath, and Joshimath, 32 km ahead, would continue under a State government initiative.
During the Winter Char Dham, pilgrims and tourists would be able to visit the places where the deities of the four shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri, and Gangotri would be kept during six months.
The idol of the Yamunotri shrine is moved to Kharsali, of Gangotri to Mukhba, of Kedarnath to Ukhimath and of Badrinath to Pandukeshwar.
Roads to the Badrinath shrine, which were undergoing repairs after the damage during the 2013 deluge, are still under repair.
