Access to religious places now easy but sites should not be treated as picnic spots: HP Governor

Development works have made access to religious places easy but these should not be treated as picnic spots, said Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla.

Addressing a gathering of people from Uttarakhand and Jharkhand living in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday to commemorate the foundation days of these states, he said the sanctity of the religious places should be maintained.

Earlier, people used to walk for days and hours to visit religious places but now they travel on helicopters, he opined.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi prays and meditates at Kedarnath, a clear message goes out to people that religious places should be treated with respect the governor said and stressed the need to preserve the country's rich heritage and traditions.

The Centre has started the tradition of celebrating each state's foundation day at the Raj Bhavan with the objective of connecting people, Shukla said.

"We should not forget our values and neither should we turn away from the development. Only if we carry both, we will be able to preserve our culture," he added.