A portion of the shrine to which the idol of Dhari Devi was shifted has developed minor cracks.
This has given rise to talks about whether the cracks have been formed due to the wrath of the goddess because she is believed to have foiled repeated attempts to construct a roof above her idol at the old temple. The platform on which the idol is presently kept has developed some cracks. However, the district administration has said that there is no threat to the structural integrity of the temporary temple structure.
The idol of the goddess was shifted to the temporary location on June 16 as the rising level of water in the Alaknanda threatened to submerge the original shrine. However, according to the Srinagar Tehsil sub-divisional magistrate Raza Abbas, the minor cracks have appeared on some tiles due to the hammering of boulders being carried by the flow of the river. There is no danger to the structure where the idol of the goddess is being kept. The district administration has deployed one head constable and two constables to guard the temporary shrine.
It should be mentioned here that some members of the religious fraternity and many locals believe that the devastation experienced recently in Uttarakhand was result of divine wrath following the shifting the the Dhari Devi idol from the temple where it had stood for hundreds of years. Such ideas have gained support considering the fact that roof constructed above the idol of the goddess in the old shrine always collapsed soon after construction lending credence to the belief that the goddess never allowed a roof to be constructed above her idol.
The idol was shifted on June 16 in view of the rising waters of the Alaknanda even though the temple committee was earlier against shifting the idol before July 4 after the ascend of Jupiter to start an astrologically favourable period.