Mussoorie, Oct. 24 -- The portals of Kedarnath Dham, one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, were ceremonially closed for the winter season on Thursday morning at 8:30am amid Vedic rituals, chants of "Jai Baba Kedar," and the soulful tunes of the Army band. The auspicious event took place on the occasion of Bhai Dooj (Kartik Shukla Saptami, Anuradha Nakshatra) in the presence of Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. The temple was lavishly adorned with local flowers before the closing rituals began. Despite freezing temperatures, nearly 10,000 devotees gathered to witness the emotional farewell to the deity for the season. The Panchmukhi Utsav Doli (ceremonial palanquin) of Lord Kedarnath was then taken around the temple before departing for its first halt at Rampur, amid chants and music by devotees and priests. CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, while extending wishes to devotees across India and abroad, said the grand reconstruction of Kedarnath was a result of the visionary guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The portals of Yamunotri Dham were ceremoniously closed for the winter season on Thursday, marking the end of the pilgrimage period for the year. The closure took place at 12:30pm on the auspicious occasion of Bhai Dooj. The day began with the traditional arrival of the palanquin (doli) of Shani Dev Maharaj, the divine brother of Goddess Yamuna, from Kharsali village to the main temple. Accompanied by the beat of traditional drums, the doli's arrival set the stage for elaborate rituals at the shrine. The Char Dham yatra has crossed the five million pilgrim mark on Thursday. According to state tourism department officials, the total number of pilgrims visiting the four Himalayan shrines -Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri -along with Hemkund Sahib and Gaumukh, touched over 5 million on Thursday. As per official data, the pilgrim numbers recorded till Wednesday evening stood at 49,77,995....