Uttarakhand Char Dham Board: Priests Protest Amid Trivendra Singh Rawat's Visit

Former Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, who constituted the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board during his tenure, faced protests on Monday, 1 November, amid his Kedarnath visit.

(Photo Courtesy: Facebook/Trivendra Singh Rawat)

Former Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, who constituted the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board during his tenure, faced protests on Monday, 1 November, amid his Kedarnath visit.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Acharya Santosh Trivedi said,

"We've sent him back from here after the 30 October deadline given by government ended and no decision has been taken on Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board."

Rawat's visit, along with protocol minister Dhan Singh Rawat and state BJP chief Madan, came ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tour to Kedarnath scheduled for 5 November.

As per reports, priests sloganeered against the BJP leaders as soon as they landed, with many protestors showing them black flags.

Recently, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami formed a high power committee owing to finding a resolution in the matter. A report regarding the same was submitted in October this year, News18 reported.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the 2022 assembly elections, the Congress has assured the electorate that it will scrap the act if voted to power in the state.

Uttarakhand’s Char Dham Board Faces Opposition

'Teerth purohits', or pilgrimage priests have been agitating against Uttarakhand government's Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act since 2019.

The act sought to include Char Dham of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri and 49 other temples under the purview of a proposed shrine board.

Consequently, the Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Board was formed by the Trivendra Singh Rawat-led government in January 2020.

The panel consisted of the CM as its chairman, the state culture minister as Deputy Chairman, and the chief secretary as and ex-officio member.

However, the purohits and other workers at all Char Dham shrines and their affiliated temples have been consistently agitating against the law, saying that the government did not not consult them, despite the priests being the main stakeholders in the issue.

All involved with the Char Dham shrines have also alleged that the government will acquire control of the area and its donations through the act.

Rajanikant Semwal, Gangotri temple committee spokesperson stated, “Only pilgrimage purohits have their stakes in all four Char Dham shrines and the temples affiliated to them. Government should have consulted them before framing the law but it did not happen. It was intended to deprive Char Dham priests of their land rights and keep their properties in the possession of Devasthanam Board," The Print quoted.

(With inputs from News18, ANI and The Print.)