Priests of Dhams thank Uttarakhand govt for making strict provisions to prevent misuse of name of Chardham

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], July 23 (ANI): The priests of different temples and Dhams met Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at his camp office on Tuesday and thanked the state government for taking the decision to start the Centre for Hindu Studies at Doon University and making strict provisions for misuse of the name of Chardham.

Chief Minister Dhami said, “Chardhams of our state are the centres of faith for crores of devotees, these Dhams cannot exist anywhere else in Devbhoomi. Our government is committed to taking every possible decision in accordance with public sentiments.”

After the Uttarakhand Cabinet announced that the government will introduce strict laws to ensure that no trust, temple, or committee is formed in the name of Chardham and other major temples in Uttarakhand, saints from Haridwar welcomed this government decision.

Speaking with ANI, one of the saints said, “Various trusts are constituted to make duplicate Chardham temples, Jyotirlingas, and peeths; the Uttarakhand government will bring strict law against this practice. We welcome this decision by the government and conveyed to CM Dhami that there should be a law to avoid such practices. There should be ban on such saints who are also involved in this brokerage and misguide devotees using the name of temples.”

Another saint said, “We welcome this law. The government has stopped the practice of misguiding devotees in the name of fake trusts, committees, and duplicate temples. There should be no duplicates of the Char Dham Temples of India.

Welcoming the decision, another saint stated, “The decision by Uttarakhand’s government cabinet to safeguard the authenticity of Char Dham Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri is extremely appreciable. It is the responsibility of the government and saints to manage the dignity of Char Dham, as it is one of the important pilgrimages in our culture. It is also the place where our guru Shankaracharya did his penance, that’s why this place is more important. These rules should be strictly imposed.”

This development comes in the wake of recent controversy over a Shri Kedarnath Dham Delhi Trust’s proposal to build a duplicate Kedarnath temple in Burari region of Delhi.

CM Secretary Shailesh Bagauli said, “In the cabinet meeting held this evening under the chairmanship of Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, it was decided that the government will make a provision to bring a strict law so that no trust, temple, or committee is formed in the name of Chardham and major temples of Uttarakhand.”