Mahapanchayat urges government to promote winter pilgrimage, improve facilities
PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Uttarakhand Char Dham Teerth Purohit Mahapanchayat has asked the State government to promote the winter pilgrimage and develop basic facilities at winter worship sites, along with publicity for nearby pilgrimage locations. The Mahapanchayat also urged the government to separate pilgrimage activities from tourism. The Mahapanchayat also demanded the removal of liquor and meat shops along the Char Dham route. A delegation led by Mahapanchayat chairperson Suresh Semwal met the Tourism secretary Dhiraaj Singh Garbyal at the secretariat on Tuesday and proposed measures to increase visitor numbers at winter pilgrimage sites. They submitted an eight-point memorandum which included a proposal for live broadcast of evening Arti from winter pilgrimage sites. The memorandum also called for organising festivals at all four Dham and promoting nearby religious sites during winter. The delegation also demanded restrictions on pilgrims trekking to Chandrashila from Tungnath. The Mahapanchayat sought adequate snow cutter machines to ensure uninterrupted movement on routes during snowfall. It further recommended encouraging local villagers to run homestays and extend the benefits of government schemes to them. The Mahapanchayat general secretary Brijesh Sati said that the memorandum was sent to the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. He stated that the State government’s efforts to promote winter worship sites are welcome and assured support from teerth purohits and local residents.
It is pertinent to mention here that the State government has been talking about working to increase the number of pilgrims during the winter Char Dham since last year. However, Mahapanchayat wants the government to promote winter Char Dham extensively across the country and provide required facilities at the pilgrimages to ensure pilgrims face minimum inconvenience during their journey.
