Badrinath temple reopens after winter

           Badrinath: The Badrinath temple in the Himalayas re-opened for public on Tuesday. The temple, situated in the Garhwal region of Uttaranchal, remains closed for nearly six months from November due to heavy snow in the region. Naresh, a pilgrim, said that he has been visiting the shrine for the past eight years. "We have been coming here for the past eight years and till the time the road is open I come here," he said. This is one of the four holiest Hindu shrines in the area. The other three are Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. All the four are in the Garhwal region of Uttaranchal.

         Located on the banks of River Alaknanda, this ancient temple dedicated to Lord Badri or Lord Vishnu is visited by thousands of pilgrims every year. The pilgrims cannot go near the idols inside the temple and have to pay their respects from a distance. The idol of Lord Badri is made of shining black stone. Heavy security arrangements are made even during the period when the temple remains closed. Besides Indian Army, personnel from the paramilitary Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) are also posted there to keep a strict guard around the shrine. The temple at Badrinath is an ancient monument which was renovated later. Earlier, pilgrims had to take a long walk to reach there but now roads have been constructed to make the journey comfortable. April 27, 2004

Sikh pilgrims leave for Pak for Baisakhi

         Amritsar: About 3,000 Sikh pilgrims have left for Pakistan to attend the Baisakhi festival to be celebrated on April 13. The pilgrims will visit some of the famous Sikh shrines in Pakistan including Gurdwaras Nankana Sahib, Panja Sahib, Sacha Sahib and Dera Sahib before returning on April 15. The Sikhs apex body, Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC) demanded easing visa procedures to allow more people-to- people exchange. "We demand that there should be an open border between India and Pakistan. We wish to visit our holy places but get entangled in the harsh visa process which takes a lot of time. So both the governments should relax visa restrictions," said Manjit Singh Calcutta, honorary secretary of SGPC, who was present at the Golden Temple to see off the pilgrims. The pilgrims demanded a direct bus route between Amritsar and Lahore as Sikh pilgrims are eager to visit Nankana Sahib in Pakistan. Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan during the partition in 1947. As a result, a number of revered Sikh shrines are now in Pakistan's Punjab province where a small Sikh population continues to stay. Every year, thousands of Sikh pilgrims from across the world congregate in Pakistan to participate in the birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev, founder of the Sikh religion.
-April 6, 2004

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