Most shrines in state sans facilities for devotees

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, November 9

About 30 years ago, the state government took over the management of all major shrines by bringing the “Himachal Pradesh Hindu Public Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1984”. Unfortunately, it has not benefited the devotees visiting these shrines.

These temples get offerings in crores every year but much remains to be done to make the pilgrimage of millions seeking divine solace safer and more comfortable. At present, over 34 temples in the state are under the control of the government.

Major shrines of northern India, including like Mata Chintpurni, Maa Brajeshwari, Jwalamukhi, Chamunda Mata, Baba Balak Nath Deot Sidh, Naina Devi, and an ancient Shiva temple are situated in Himachal.

While taking over the management of these temples, the intention of the then Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh was to develop the state’s Shaktipeeths on the lines of Vaishno Devi and Tirupati Balaji. But even after 30 years, the Himachal Government is nowhere near its goal. Despite these temples having bank deposits in crores, the situation has moved from bad to worse.

Most of these temples lack basic amenities like parking, medical facilities and sarais. Besides, the deteriorating law and order situation has also become a matter of concern. The recent brutal attack on devotees from Majitha (Amritsar) at Jwalamukhi Temple has brought a bad name to the state.

Senior officials of the state government had also visited Vaishno Devi and Tirupati Balaji temples by spending lakhs of rupees but in vain.

ML Sharma, a former civil servant who served as temple officer at various shrines for a long time, said the state government should set up a “Devasthan Board” on the pattern of Uttarakhand, bringing the temples under one banner. The board should be headed by a senior IAS officer and a master plan for the development of temples should be prepared. These places of worship should have an independent cadre and staff should be transferable. Temple funds should not be diverted for other purposes as being done today. It is the money of the devotees and should be utilised for their benefit alone, he added.

Bijender Sharma, a resident of Jwalamukhi, said the government should implement the report of the BC Negi (former Chief Secretary) Committee, which was constituted on the directions the HP High Court to look into temple affairs. The committee had made important recommendations, including some pertaining to the utilisation of temple offerings.

“The committee has also made very strong observations about vehicles purchased from temple funds being used by DCs, who are the temple commissioners, and SDMs. However, in the absence of political will, all remained confined to official files,” he asserted.