In what can be construed as a morale booster to the beleaguered Chief Minister Harish Rawat, currently smarting under RP Nishank’s skeletal remains onslaught, Swami Adhokshajanand Dev Tirth, religious head of Puri who had recently visited Kedarnath, lauded the State Government for the reconstruction work in and around the Kedarnath shrine. He said that since 2002 he has been visiting Kedarnath. “But the present arrangements are the best,” he said. “As per the saint society, June-2013 disaster was a natural calamity. It was thus essential that no damage was done to the fragile nature during the reconstruction work. I have appealed to the State Government to ensure the same. I am happy things are in perfect order,” the seer said.
Swami Tirth said that he was pleasantly surprised by the positive change that have come about in Kedarnath shrine post-2013 disaster. “The latest was my seventh Kedarnath visit since 2002. Earlier, there was no trace of administrative officials there. But this time, sector magistrates remain deployed at Sonprayag, Gaurikund Bhimbali and lincholi. Now Garhwal Mandal Viksa Nigam (GMVN) is providing food to the pilgrims at cheaper prices. The yatra is now taking lesser time than the earlier one. Such measures seem to have restored the confidence of the pilgrims in full,” he said.
He suggested that all the priests, previously engaged in presiding over rituals, should be rehabilitated by the State Government. Dwelling on the imperative of keeping Mother Ganga clean, the seer said the State Government should take measures to stop pollutants from desecrating the holy water of the river. “The same is true of the serenity of the Himalayas,” he added. In a veiled attack on media, Swami said that he had been apprehensive of the ground situation in the shrine thanks to the adverse media reporting. “But the things on the ground have proved different,” he said.