Gangotri temple committee follows Badrinath-Kedarnath cue, set to ban non-Hindus too

Gangotri temple committee follows Badrinath-Kedarnath cue, set to ban non-Hindus tooAshish Mishra / TNNUttarkashi: After the recent declaration by the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee chairman to ban entry of non-Hindus at Kedarnath, Badrinath & 47 temples under the committee's jurisdiction, the management committee of Gangotri Dham has also made a similar announcement.Committee officials said the restriction will not be limited to Gangotri Dham alone but will also apply to Mukhba village, the winter abode of goddess Ganga.Committee secretary Suresh Semwal said they propose to ensure that non-Hindus are not allowed entry into the shrine premises, the Ganga ghat and all surrounding religious and sacred sites."The committee at a meeting on Saturday has unanimously taken the significant and strict decision to protect the religious sanctity and traditions of Gangotri Dham, one of the major pilgrimage sites of Hinduism," said Semwal."Gangotri Dham is not just a pilgrimage site but a symbol of Hindu faith and culture, and therefore adherence to its customs and traditions is mandatory. The committee will implement a local monitoring system, entry control and make necessary arrangements to ensure strict adherence to the rules," he added.Gangotri Dham is considered the site of the origin of the Ganga in Hindu mythology.It is believed that goddess Ganga, pleased by the rigorous penance of King Bhagiratha, descended from heaven to earth. Every year during the Char Dham Yatra, more than seven lakh devotees from India and abroad visit the shrine.A few days ago, the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC), which administers the Char Dham shrines of Badrinath and Kedarnath and 47 other temples, had also announced a similar move at temples under its jurisdiction. The proposal is expected to be placed before the BKTC board soon.The issue of banning non-Hindus at religious sites in Uttarakhand cropped up when demands were raised by the head of Ganga Sabha, the body which administers the Har-ki-Pauri ghat in Haridwar, asking the state govt to allow entry to only Hindus at the ghats in Haridwar and Rishikesh during the Ardh Kumbh mela scheduled for 2027. Later, the body put up boards at Har-ki-Pauri declaring that non-Hindus were not allowed.