Head priest of Baba Balak Nath shrine flags 'irregularities' in temple management

The head priest of the Baba Balak Nath temple at Deotsidh in Himachal Pradesh's Hamirpur district on Friday flagged alleged irregularities in the management of the temple trust.

Attacking the trust at a press conference on Thursday evening, Mahant S Rajendra Giri claimed workload management has been a problem for several years due to the absence of a permanent temple official.

“An officer of IAS or equivalent rank should be appointed to ensure high-level management of temple operations,” Giri said.

Laws are being blatantly flouted and the number of students in the educational institutions run by the temple trust is steadily declining, he alleged.

The trust administration should address the problem by offering professional courses, he suggested.

Giri also demanded that the government should include intellectuals from the region in the temple trust so that the temple is better managed and the devotees receive better facilities.

He also welcomed the Himachal Pradesh High Court's October 14 judgment, which said temple funds cannot be diverted, transmitted or donated to any government welfare scheme or any other activity not related to the temple or religion, as devotees make donations believing these would be used for the care of deities, the shrine, and the promotion of Sanatan Dharma.