)
After a hiatus of nearly 3 months, the portals of the historic Kedarnath temple, the epicenter of the June 16-17 deluge, would be reopened for puja with all vedic rituals tomorrow.
It will be the first time in the recent history that priests and other puja material had been flown to Kedarnath temple by choppers as all efforts to reconstruct the devastated 14 km long trek went in vain. And the puja will be held without the presence of pilgrims too for the first time.
A decision regarding the resumption of pilgrimage to Kedarnath shrine will be taken on September 30, Chief Minister VIjay Bahuguna said.
Also Read
The Chief Minister will be among the dignitaries present at Kedarnath temple. The puja will begin with a yajna in the morning amid chanting of vedic hymns and other shalokas. “We have made all arrangements for the smooth conduct of the puja,” said DIG Garhwal Amit Sinha.
Just a day before the puja, which remained disrupted since June 16-17, a political controversy is also brewing up with a section of priests protesting against the government’s move to stop them from proceeding to the shrine area. The Rudraprayag district administration has put up restrictions at several areas to stop local people to proceed from alternate routes also.
Sensing its political ramifications, the BJP immediately jumped into the issue describing the puja as a “political drama” and demanding a white paper on the natural disaster that left hundreds of people dead. BJP leader and former chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said he would lead a separate march to Kedarnath in protest against the restrictions being imposed by the Rudraprayag district authorities on local priests. “How can the government perform puja at Kedarnath temple without taking any help from local priests. The puja must be performed by the local priests only and the government should only work as a facilitator,” said Nishank
