The tourism department, which has given the slogan ‘Uttarakhand, Sachmuch Swarg’ (Uttarakhand, Heaven Indeed) is itself making a joke of the religious places of the ‘Devbhumi’.
The situation is such that the publicity material published by the department makes it appear as if the tourism department is either not sure about the names of important religious destinations or is not bothered about destinations being spelt wrongly. In one such brochure about the tourism and pilgrimage destinations in Uttarakhand, the department has stated Vasudhara near Badrinath as ‘Pashudhara Pratap’ which is not only a spelling error but also changes the meaning of the name.
During the recently concluded adventure tourism festival at the Tehri dam reservoir, this publicity material was also distributed to visitors from India and abroad. Uttarakhand is often referred to as the land of Gods with various shrines and sites of religious importance attracting lakhs of visitors throughout the year.
Those seeking information about these attractions generally contact the tourism department but if the department itself provides incorrect information, the image of the State is not likely to get a boost.
In a booklet published by the tourism department, the famous religious site of Vasudhara waterfall has been turned into ‘Pashudhara Pratap’ and this erroneous information was distributed widely among the participants and visitors during the adventure tourism festival. This shows how serious the department is regarding dissemination of proper information about the attractions of the State.
In this matter, Shankaracharya Madhavashram of Badripeeth said that ‘Vasudhara’ is a site of religious importance and calling it ‘Pashudhara Pratap’ would hurt the religious sentiments of numerous believers.
The Government should distribute the publicity material only after correcting the mistake, he added. It should be noted here that the water of Vasudhara falls is considered sacred and believed to contain medicinal properties. According to BJP leader lakhiram Joshi, the department is not working in a serious manner which is affecting the image of the State. Meanwhile, additional director, Tourism, AK Dwivedi said that ‘Pashudhara Pratap’ is a typing error which will be rectified.