Uttarakhand: Kedarnath Dham priests stage protest, demand to dissolve Devasthanam board

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], August 22 (ANI): Kedarnath Dham priests staged a protest here on Sunday demanding to dissolve the Devasthanam board.

A fast is being observed by the priests in Kedarnath Dham in protest against the board, said the pilgrim priests.

The priests said that instead of dissolving the board, the government is expanding it and had announced that a high-level committee would be formed regarding Devasthanam, which they would not tolerate at all.

The protesting priests also burnt effigies of Manohar Kant Dhyani, chairman of the high-level committee today.

The priests warned that, if this attitude of the government towards the board remains, then a battle will be fought across the board.

"On Sunday, in Kedarnath Dham, the pilgrim priests took out a rally against the government and demonstrated. The government is saying that a high committee is being formed for talks with the pilgrimage priests and the high committee is not even formed yet," said Santosh Trivedi, a protesting priest.

"The priests said that Manohar Kant Dhyani has been made the chairman of the committee and Manohar Kant Dhyani is giving a statement that the Devasthanam board will remain the same. There will be no tampering with the board," further said Trivedi.

"Giving a warning, the priests said that such conspiracies of the government will not be tolerated. Now the pilgrim priests have made up their mind to fight a one-sided battle against the government," added Trivedi.

The Devbhoomi Tirtha Purohit Haqhakudhari Mahapanchayat Samiti has announced a state-wide agitation from August 17 to protest the alleged delay in scrapping the Char Dham Devasthanam Board (CDDB). (ANI)