Dehradun: Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) on Saturday said that 8241 VIPs have visited Shri Kedarnath and Shri Badrinath Dham till May 26, from which the committee has earned an income of over Rs 24 lakh.
"Till Friday, 2922 VIP devotees reached Kedarnath Dham for darshan, from which an income of Rs 8,76,600 was generated. Similarly, 5319 VIP pilgrims have so far travelled to Badrinath Dham, from which an income of Rs 15,95,700 was generated," BKTC President Ajendra Ajay.
"After the opening of the doors this year, so far 8,241 VIPs have visited Kedarnath and Badrinath Dham and from these, BKTC has earned an income of Rs 24,72,300 till May 26, 2023," the BKTC chief said. BKTC is charging fees from VIP/VVIP devotees like other major temples of the country. This is also increasing the income of BKTC.
The study teams had made various recommendations in their reports, one of which was regarding the charging of fees from VIPs/VVIPs coming for the darshan of shrines.
Based on the recommendation of the study teams, this decision was approved in the BKTC board meeting and it was decided to charge Rs 300 per person from the VIP/VVIP pilgrims coming for the Yatra, a release from the government read.
Unauthorized visitors in the name of VIPs have also been banned after the BKTC fixed a fee of Rs 300 per person and provided them with a slip to enter the temple, it stated.
"The pleasant results of this new system are visible. The new system has stopped those unnecessarily entering the temple in the name of VIP," the BKTC president said.
The arrangements made by BKTC for the darshan are proving to be effective as it has put a check on those unauthorized visitors in the name of VIP darshan from entering the temples, it added. It further mentioned that on the opening of the doors of Ganesh Kedarnath Dham BKTC made this arrangement on the order of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Earlier CM Dhami also paid Rs 300 on the opening of the doors of Kedarnath Dham and then he visited the temple, the release read. Before the commencement of the Yatra this year by BKTC President Ajendra Ajay, four major temples of the country, Tirupati Bala Ji, Vaishno Devi, Mahakal and Somnath Dham, sent separate teams to study the temple management system.
—ANI