Fire damages wooden Adi Badri Maa Bhagwati Temple in Uttarakhand’s Bageshwar district

A fire broke out at the Adi Badri Maa Bhagwati Temple in Uttarakhand’s Bageshwar district during Navratri, extensively damaging its wooden structure. No injuries were reported.

A fire broke out at a temple in Badiyakot village in Uttarakhand’s Bageshwar district early Friday, extensively damaging its wooden structure during the Navratri festival, police said, adding that no injuries were reported.

The ancient Adi Badri Maa Bhagwati Temple in Bageshwar suffered extensive damage in a fire early Friday. Officials suspect earthen lamps or an electrical short circuit.

Fire department officials said the fire may have been caused by earthen lamps used during worship or an electrical short circuit at the Adi Badri Maa Bhagwati Temple.

“As the temple was built of deodar wood, it caught fire rapidly,” district disaster management officer of Bageshwar Shikha Suyal said.

The district disaster management team rushed to the site and, along with fire department and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel, brought the blaze under control. However, by then, the flames had engulfed the intricately carved wooden interior and caused extensive damage.

Local resident Diwan Singh said the temple priest had left for his residence after closing the temple, which delayed efforts to control the fire during the night.

The temple’s traditional hill architecture and elaborate wooden carvings had made it an important symbol of the area’s cultural and religious heritage. Former block pramukh of Kapkot Govind Singh Danu called for a formal administrative investigation into the incident.