Protesting at Kedarnath shrine since June, priest airlifted to AIIMS as his health deteriorates
The priest had been protesting against the formation of the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board, was airlifted from the temple on Monday morning and rushed to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh
A priest from Kedarnath shrine, who had been protesting since June against the formation of the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board, was airlifted from the temple on Monday morning and rushed to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh after his health condition worsened.
Santosh Trivedi (32), the priest, had started the protest on June 12. He used to sit outside the temple and meditate as a mark of protest. He has been demanding the dissolution of the Board which was formed following the passage of the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act, 2019.
Vinod Shukla, the president of Kedarnath Tirtha Purohit Mahasabha, said, “We have been protesting for months, but the state government has not paid any heed to our demands. Even in such extreme temperatures in Kedarnath, Trivedi would protest bare-chested outside the shrine and eat only one meal a day. His health condition has worsened. He has been admitted to AIIMS in Rishikesh for treatment.”
Shukla said the public in the Kedarnath valley is angry with the state government’s lack of response. He threatened to intensify protests across all the Char Dham shrines, if anything untoward happens to Trivedi.
Vineet Kumar, an official from State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), said they received a call from police in the early morning on Monday about the worsening health condition of a member of the Kedarnath temple committee.
“A team rushed to the shrine and brought the priest to Lincholi on a stretcher, from where he was airlifted to Dehradun for treatment,” said the SDRF official.
Harish Thapliyal, the public relations officer (PRO) at AIIMS, Rishikesh, said that Trivedi was admitted to the hospital on Monday at around 11.30 am with abdominal pain.
“A priest from Kedarnath, Santosh Trivedi, was admitted to the hospital at around 11.30 am on Monday. He complained of pain in his lower abdomen and was administered medicines accordingly. Doctors have taken his swab samples for coronavirus disease (Covid-19) test as per the protocol. He is being examined further,” said Thapliyal.
BD Singh, additional chief executive officer (CEO) of the Board, said that they have learnt about the priest’s worsening health condition and are taking updates from police and SDRF. “We have learnt that the priest’s health condition has worsened. We are in touch with the authorities concerned. Uttarakhand high court has given a judgement in the favour of the state government. Despite the verdict, the priests have been demanding the dissolution of the Board and all their rights are preserved. They must give up their protests and point out which parts of Act that they disagree with. A solution can be found based on their objections,” said Singh.
On June 21, the high court had dismissed the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Rajya Sabha (RS) member Subramanian Swamy against the state government’s takeover of the Char Dhams and 51 other shrines through the formation of the Board.
The court had ruled that the ownership of the temple properties would vest in Char Dham shrines and power of the Board would be confined to the administration and management of the properties.
Last December, the Uttarakhand assembly had passed the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board Bill.
In January, Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya gave her assent for the Act.
Aggrieved priests had threatened that they would move the court against the Act, as they claimed to have been kept in the dark about the new law.
They had alleged that the state government took the step to ensure its control over shrine-related issues and bypassed the powerful priest community.