The disagreement on the shrine where the ceremonial worship of lord Badrinath would be conducted during the winters appeared to have been resolved at a tripartite meeting held at the office of the sub divisional magistrate.
It has been decided that Badrinath will be ceremoniously worshipped at the Narsinh temple in Joshimath during the winters. Devotees of Badrinath on winter pilgrimage will first visit the shrine in Joshimath from where they could go ahead to Pandukeshwar.
There was heated argument among the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) chief executive officer and the residents of Joshimath and Pandukeshwar on the issue though an agreement was reached later in the meeting.
The BKTC CEO BD Singh informed that the purpose of facilitating the winter Char Dham Yatra is to boost income generation for the locals. The 50 workers of the BKTC who used to remain at Badrinath for six months during the Char Dham Yatra have now been deputed to work full time for 12 months.
He said that the locals will be encouraged to offer prayers and devotional songs at the shrines during the winter. The BKTC is also getting the Yogdhyan temple in Pandukeshwar and the Narsinh temple at Joshimath cleaned up and decorated. Appreciating the move of the BKTC, the stakeholders from Joshimath have suspended their planned agitation seeking winter pilgrimage to Joshimath. They assured all possible cooperation for facilitating a smooth winter pilgrimage. The sub divisional magistrate Anup Kumar Nautiyal said that the disagreement on where Badrinath would be ceremoniously worshipped during the winters has now been resolved.
He appreciated the representatives from Joshimath and Pandukeshwar for their cooperation.
Earlier, there were heated exchanges among the BKTC CEO and people from Joshimath and Pandukeshwar forcing the SDM to intervene. Joshimath municipality chairperson Rohini Rawat, Tehsildar MS Bhandari, Dev Pujai Samiti head GP Bhatt, Vyapar Mandal head Ul Shah and others were also present in the meeting.