The State Government continues to make claims about various efforts being made to boost pilgrimage and tourism in the State but its apathetic stance towards an ancient shrine is contradicting Government claims. The ancient lakshman temple situated near the Hemkund Sahib Gurudwara in Chamoli district continues to face Governmental apathy as local pilgrims visiting this shrine are expected to cross a stretch of the glacial lake here using a damaged wooden bridge.
This shrine to lord Ram’s brother lakshman finds mention in ancient scriptures and has been in existence since before the Hemkund Sahib Gurudwara was constructed. lakshman is believed to have undergone penance here and this shrine also called lokpal is highly venerated by pilgrims especially the native population. However, 15 years after creation of Uttarakhand State, successive BJP and Congress led State Governments have remained apathetic to the condition of this ancient shrine while at the same time focusing on boosting religious tourism to the nearby Hemkund Sahib. Due to the protracted apathy of the Government, those visiting this shrine are mostly locals who know about the temple and are aware of its significance. Such is the apathy with which the ancient shrine is treated by the authorities that the wooden bridge used by pilgrims to cross a stretch of the glacial lake and visit the temple is being ignored in spite of being in a damaged State. The damaged condition of this wooden bridge could lead to injury or worse for an unlucky visitor. Observers point out that while the Government claims to be undertaking various measures for boosting tourism and pilgrimage in the State, simply focusing on facilitating the Char Dham Yatra is not enough. For a start, the State should also focus on improving the condition of ancient shrines like the lakshman temple, they add.