Mussoorie, April 19 -- The Char Dham Yatra commenced on Friday with the opening of the portals of Yamunotri, Gangotri and Kedarnath Dham amid Vedic chants on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya in the Garhwal Himalayas. The shrines, decked up with flowers, saw a sea of pilgrims on the first day.

The portal of Gangotri Dham was first to open at 12:15 pm, while the portal of Yamunotri Dham opened at 12:35 pm amid chants of Jai Maa Ganga and Jai Maa Yamuna in the presence of a large number of devotees.

"All rituals were conducted strictly in accordance with traditional Vedic rites to ensure the sanctity of the opening of the portal at 12:15 pm," secretary of the temple committee Suresh Semwal said.

Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dham...