Tuesday, 14 MAY 2024 | PNS | JOSHIMATH
At a time when the State government claimed that it had requested other States to desist from sending ‘VIPs’ to Char Dham during the first fortnight of the Yatra, the visits of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and governor Gurmit Singh have apparently not gone down well will all groups of Teerth Purohits and others who have opposed the ‘VIP’ system in Badrinath and Kedarnath. The visits of the dignitaries came at a time when the Char Dham shrines were visited by a record breaking number of visitors, leading to traffic jams en route and other issues in the initial days after reopening of these temples. Following the protests by Teerth Purohits and Pandas in Badrinath on Monday, the Joshimath sub divisional magistrate announced that the system of enabling VIP Darshan for Rs 300 started during the Yatra last year will be discontinued in Badrinath. The authorities also announced that there will be no restrictions on the locals visiting the Badrinath temple and that the old path from Kuber Gully, used by local pedestrians, will be opened for people.
Members of the Teerth Purohit and Panda fraternity along with locals staged a protest demonstration in Badrinath on Monday against VIP Darshan and on other issues. The protesters were demonstrating at the Saket intersection where the SDM Chandrashekhar Vashishisht met them and assured them that the VIP Darshan system started by the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee has been discontinued. The Uttarakhand Char Dham Teerth Purohit Mahapanchayat general secretary Brijesh Sati said that the authorities have announced the discontinuation of the VIP Darshan system in Badrinath and have also met two other demands of the protesters. A general meeting will be held on Tuesday morning to discuss various issues being faced in Badrinath and to plan the future course of action, he added.
