Kedarnath sanctity at stake, say locals as pilgrims break norms

From firecrackers and political flags to risky glacier reels, police have lodged multiple FIRs
DEHRADUN: Less than a week after Kedarnath shrine opened for Char Dham yatra on Apr 22, police personnel deployed for crowd management are grappling with a different set of challenges this year, from visitors lighting crackers for birthday celebrations in the temple zone to devotees waving political party flags in front of the shrine and vloggers entering risky glacier stretches for reels. Police have registered multiple FIRs in such cases, while senior officers said social media monitoring had been tightened to identify those uploading content that violated norms.

One of the recent cases involved bursting of firecrackers near Kedarnath temple during a birthday celebration, after which police at Sonprayag police station registered an FIR against an unidentified person linked to an Instagram handle named 'Sumit-Ke-Blog'. The case was registered on Monday under BNS section 353(3), dealing with public mischief within a place of worship. In another set of incidents, videos showed visitors waving political flags near the shrine, while a separate row broke out after some young men claiming to be vloggers crossed boundary ropes and ventured into restricted glacier areas to shoot content, before locals and police stopped them and let them off with a warning on safety grounds.

Backlash from residents has been sharp because many see the conduct as a breach of the religious and environmental sensitivity of the pilgrimage. “The things that are happening this time are unprecedented. People are breaching the sanctity of such a pious place,” Ashish Gairola, a resident of Triyuginarayan who works with a heli-service company, told TOI.

Mayaram Goswami, 65, who runs a restaurant-cum-lodge at Gaurikund on the trek route, said he had never seen such conduct during the yatra in earlier years. “I have been witnessing the yatra since my childhood. Such incidents never happened earlier, but we have been seeing them in the past two or three years,” Goswami said. "More people are coming for social media likes and comments rather than to pay respects to Lord Kedarnath and experience the spirituality of the place.”

Goswami said the temple precinct could not be allowed to turn into a site for political display. “If such incidents are not stopped, then after some time netas will come here with posters and banners for rallies,” he said.

Police on the ground said dealing with such conduct was consuming time and manpower that should have gone towards helping pilgrims, especially elderly visitors. An ASI-rank officer deployed at Kedarnath said: “People should understand that this is not a place for gaining social media popularity.”

Nilesh Anand Bharne, IG STF and state cyber crime unit, said the state police were carrying out strict social media monitoring. “Our dedicated social media monitoring team is identifying such handles and accounts to take necessary legal action,” Bharne said. He added that FIRs had already been registered and more action would follow wherever required.

It's a conundrum for local residents and those living along the yatra route as the local economy depends heavily on pilgrim arrivals. Last year, Kedarnath yatra generated about Rs 300 crore for the local economy in 48 days, with income spread across hotels, restaurants, tents, horse and mule services, helicopters, palanquins and shuttle taxis. More than 11.4 lakh pilgrims had visited in that period, showing how strongly local livelihoods are tied to the pilgrimage.

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