Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Monday launched the “Online Prasad Chhinmastika Bhog” of Mata Chintpurni temple in Una district through video conferencing from Shimla.
Speaking on the occasion, he said the Covid-19 pandemic has forced the State Government to close all the temples and religious shrines of the State to avoid social gathering and spread of the virus. He said that although most of the shrines in the State were providing online ‘Darshan’ facility to the devotees but it was for the first time that facility of providing ‘Prasad’ to the devotees has been launched with cooperation of the Postal Department.
Thakur said temples of the State drew lakhs of devotees from throughout the country particularly during the ‘Shrawan Ashtami Melas’ but this time the temples have been closed. He appreciated the efforts of the District Administration Una for providing home delivery service of ‘Prasad-Bhog’ to the devotees of the shrine and the Indian Postal Department for its cooperation in online home delivery of the ‘Prasad’.
The Chief Minister said that the State Government was committed to develop Himachal Pradesh as a best destination for religious tourism, adding that all major temples and shrines of the State were being developed and maintained to attract devotees and religious tourists. He said that Mata Chintpurni Temple was one of the most sacred religious places of the region which drew tourists from all over the world.
Thakur said people of the State would now be able to get ‘Prasad’ of this holy shrine at their door steps by applying online for ‘Darshan and Prasad’, adding tjat with this Himachal Pradesh has become amongst the few State after Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and Baba Kashi Vishwanath, Banaras to have facility of home delivery of ‘Prasad’.
Jai Ram Thakur said that the State Government would consider sympathetically the demand of providing better drinking water facility to the temple complex and surrounding areas.