E-Paper
Shankaracharya not to dispatch team to clean ravaged shrine
Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati of Dwarka and Jyotish Peeths yesterday decided not to send an 11-member delegation to clean the revered Kedarnath shrine to resume prayers.
Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopan and Saraswati of Dwarka and Jyotish Peeths on Thursday decided not to send an 11-member delegation to clean the revered Kedarnath shrine to resume prayers.
The seer took the decision after Uttarakhand chief minister Vijay Bahuguna assured to send a delegation of 30 members to clean the shrine and sought one week time to carry out the work.
Swami Brahmavidyanand, disciple of Shankaracharya, told Hindustan Times that the 11-member delegation of the seer was scheduled to leave on Thursday to start the cleaning work at the shrine but on assurance from the Uttarakhand chief minister it was withdrawn.
The chief minister had a talk with the seer and asked for giving one more week time to clean the shrine so routine prayers are started, he said. He said there are reports of sludge and there could be some dead bodies trapped inside the shrine and the seer is concerned over it and wants they be removed as early possible.
The shrine reopens every year in end of April and closes in November.
