Dehradun, Nov 16 (PTI) Heavy snowfall in Kedarnath on Monday left Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his Uttarakhand counterpart Trivendra Singh Rawat stranded at the Himalayan temple for hours, leading to the deferment of their visit to Badrinath.

After heavy snowfall delayed their departure from Kedarnath, the two chief ministers reached Gauchar by a helicopter from where they will go to Badrinath on Tuesday, DGP (Law and Order) Ashok Kumar said.

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They will perform a puja at Badrinath which will be followed by Adityanath laying the foundation stone of a guest house to be built there by Uttar Pradesh government.  

The two chief ministers had arrived at Kedarnath on Sunday to offer prayers at the temple and attend the ceremonial closure of its portals on Monday. 

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They were scheduled to leave for Badrinath after the closure of Kedarnath gates at 8.30 am on Monday. However, heavy snowfall began at Kedarnath on Sunday night and continued till Monday, delaying their departure and finally leading to the postponement of their visit to Badrinath.

But, both chief ministers appeared to be enjoying the snowfall in Kedarnath.

Adityanath said, "I have had the good fortune of visiting Kedarnath in a beautiful and pleasant weather. Nature also seems to be greeting Bhagwan Bhole." 

"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. PTI ALM

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)