Priests of Gangotri, Yamunotri temples begin indefinite dharna against Devasthanam Board

Intensifying their protest against the Devasthanam Board, the priests of Gangotri and Yamunotri temples on Monday began an indefinite dharna demanding that the panel be revoked.

Apart from the two temples, priests in Kharsali where Goddess Yamuna is worshipped during winter are also sitting on a dharna, Gangotri Mandir Samiti president Suresh Semwal said.

The teerth-purohits who were offering daily prayers at the Himalayan temples with black bands tied on their arms for the last ten days in protest against the board sat on an indefinite dharna on Monday, officials of the temple committees concerned said.

The agitating priests said they had intensified their stir as the state government was not paying heed to their demands.

''Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat is yet to act on his assurance of revoking the board and pulling out 51 temples from the ambit of its administration while Tourism and Culture Minister Satpal Maharaj has ruled out a rethink on the board,'' Semwal said.

The Uttarakhand Devasthanam Board was constituted by former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat through a legislation passed in the state assembly for the management of 51 temples including Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri.

Priests have been opposing the board from the outset.

Soon after taking charge as the chief minister, Tirath Singh Rawat had hinted at reconsidering the decision on the board and removing the 51 temples from its ambit by taking all stakeholders into confidence.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)