Congress leader and former president of Badrinath-Kedarnath temple committee Ganesh Godiyal said, "When the colour of the gold had discoloured in a case of 2005, this time how did the temple committee give a tax exemption certificate to the donor without checking the gold?"
Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) president Ajendra Ajay has said that gold-plating has been done on the jaleri of sanctum sanctorum of Kedarnath temple and a transparent acrylic layer has also been applied over it so that the gold polish is not damaged
Refuting the claims on social media platforms that the gold plating of the sanctum sanctorum of the Kedarnath temple is brass, Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) termed it a "conspiracy".
"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.
Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee Chairman Ajendra Ajay appealed to the pilgrims visiting Kedarnath to take information about the weather before heading for yatra and said that the state government and the temple committee have made all arrangements for the Chardham Yatra.
"The boards at various places in Kedarnath and Badrinath Dham containing donations through QR codes were not put up by the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC). These boards were installed on the day of the opening of the doors in both Dhams. The boards were later removed by BKTC
An order issued on behalf of Harichandra Semwal, Secretary, Department of Culture, Religion, Pilgrimage Management and Religious Fair on Monday states that the appointment to the post of Finance Officer will be made by the government.
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the state government has made all arrangements to ensure that everyone's Char Dham Yatra is smooth.
BKTC President Ajendra Ajay said, "The date of opening of the doors is near. On April 27, the doors of Lord Badri Vishal will be opened for devotees. Therefore, various works should be expedited. The devotees should not face any kind of inconvenience due to the construction works."
The Uttarakhand government has given the chief executive officer (CEO) of Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) the powers of Special Executive Magistrate for both the dhams during the yatra.
He further said that the administration is expecting a large number of devotees this year as well, and for that teams of the temple committee have been sent for deployment at the four temples-- Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri, and Gangotri.
The country's prestigious media house "Express Publication (Madurai) Pvt Ltd" will undertake the work of the first phase of expansion, beautification and reconstruction of Kotha Bhawan of Omkareshwar temple complex located at Ukhimath, the winter seat of Baba Kedarnath.