Traditional ‘puja’ will restart at the flood-ravaged Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand from September 11. This was decided at a high-level meeting between Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and office bearers of the Badri Kedarnath Mandir Samiti, which oversees the revered shrine on Friday.
During the meeting, they decided in principle to begin worship at the Kedarnath Temple from 11 September, on the occasion of 'Sarvarth Siddhi Amrit Yog'. The Shankarcharyas, Rawal, local 'Teerth Purohits' and holy men have expressed their satisfaction with the decision.
Addressing the meeting, CM Bahuguna said that the Temple Committee has got the sanctum sanctorum and the sabha mandap of the temple cleared of debris, while the doors had also been reinstalled. A platform had also been constructed beside the idol of Nandi. Emphasis is also being laid on ensuring safety of those involved in resumption of worship in the temple premises.
The CM has also directed the Chief Engineer PWD to build steel bridges along with railings in Kedarnath. Along with this, he has also asked him to make arrangements for a hundred pre-fabricated houses for those involved in the proceedings at the temple.
Through video conferencing, he asked the District Magistrate, Rudraprayag, Dilip Jawalkar to dispatch two months' ration from Rudraprayag to Kedarnath. This is being done for the convenience of office-bearers, purohits, Police, Administration and labourers working at the Kedarnath Temple.
During the meeting, the Chief Minister asked the Rawal, Bhima Shankarling, representatives of the Shankarcharya, Subodhchand, teerth purohits and representatives of the temple committee for their opinion on restarting religious proceedings at the temple. Everybody gave their consent for September 11 as the auspicious day to start religious proceedings. They confirmed that there would be no problem in resuming prayers on this day. The Chief Minister accepted the date in principle.
The CM has again called for a meeting in the last week of August to analyse the preparations being done for the worship to be held on September 11. He has also asked the DM, Rudraprayag, to chalk out an alternate trekking route to Kedarnath. USACS’s Dr MM Kimothi gave a 3D presentation on alternate routes to Kedarnath.
Also present on the occasion were Cabinet Minister Yashpal Arya, Dr Harak Singh Rawat, Amrita Rawat, Dinesh Aggarwal, President Temple Committee Ganesh Godiyal, Rawal Bheema Shankarling, Shankarcharya’s representative Subodhanand, local purohits and other officials.