Less than a week after the Kedarnath shrine opened for the Char Dham yatra, police deployed for crowd management are grappling with a different set of challenges — visitors lighting crackers for birthday celebrations in the temple zone, devotees waving political party flags in front of the shrine, and vloggers entering risky glacier stretches for social media reels.
Police have registered multiple FIRs, while officers said social media monitoring had been tightened. One recent case involved the bursting of crackers near the Kedarnath temple during a birthday celebration, after which cops registered an FIR against an unidentified person linked to the Instagram handle ‘Sumit-Ke-Blog’. The case was registered under BNS Section 353(3), which deals 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.
Residents Express Outrage
Backlash from residents has been sharp, with many seeing the conduct as a breach of the religious and environmental sensitivity of the pilgrimage. “The things happening this time are unprecedented. People are breaching the sanctity of such a pious place,” Ashish Gariola, 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 Resources Strained
Police said dealing with such conduct was consuming time and manpower meant for helping pilgrims, especially elderly visitors. The additional burden has forced authorities to reallocate resources, potentially affecting the overall experience of devotees undertaking the arduous pilgrimage.
The shrine, located in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, attracts thousands of pilgrims each year. Authorities have urged visitors to maintain decorum and respect the sanctity of the site.
