Kamal Ghorui
Less than a week after Kedarnath shrine opened for Char Dham yatra, police de- ployed for crowd management are grappling with a different set of challenges — visitors lighting crackers for birthday events in the temple zone, devotees waving political party flags in front of the shrine, and vloggers enter- ing risky glacier stretches for reels. Police have registered multiple FIRs, while officers said social media monitoring had been tightened. One recent case involved bursting of crack- ers near Kedarnath temple during a birthday celebration, after which cops registered an FIR against an unidentified person linked to Insta- gram handle ‘Sumit-Ke-Blog’. The case was registered under BNS Sec 353(3), dealing with public mischief within a place of worship. In other incidents, videos showed visitors waving political flags near the shrine, while some men claiming to be vloggers crossed boundary ropes and ventured into restricted glacier areas to shoot content before police stopped them and let them off with a warning. Backlash from residents has been sharp, with many seeing the conduct as a breach of the re- ligious and environmental sensitivity of the pilgrimage. “The things happening this time are unprecedented. People are breaching the sanctity of such a pious place,” Ashish Gairo- la, a resident of Triyuginarayan, told TOI. Mayaram Goswami, 65, who runs a restaurant-cum-lodge at Gaurikund, said he had never seen such conduct during the yatra earlier. “More people are coming for social media likes and comments rather than to pay respects to Lord Kedarnath,” he added. Police said dealing with such conduct was consuming time and manpower meant for helping pilgrims, especially elderly visitors.
