The Battle of Barsana. Yesterday was the anniversary of the ‘Battle of Barsana’. Yogendra Singh Chhunkar, who is researching the history and culture of Barsana, said that the Battle of Barsana was decided on 30 October 1773. The battle was between the forces of the Mughal ruler, Shah Alam II, and the Hindu rulers of Bharatpur. The Mughuls attacked with over 12,000 soldiers. The resisting forces were mixed, and, according to Chhunkar’s research, included a German commander and his troupe of 5000 soldiers. After winning the war, the Mughals looted and burnt Barsana. (Read more, Hindi)
P.C. Ghumakkar
Vrindavan’s Jaipur Temple to get revamp. Yesterday, Vrindavan’s famous Jaipur Temple was visited by Rajistan Minister for Religious Affairs, Rajkumar Renaivan. The minister told the press that several of Jaipur’s important temples are in need of renovation. He said that the Government plans to beautify these temples as a model and that Vrindavan’s Jaipur Temple will be included in the beautification project. The minister said that while the principles of sanatan dharma are spreading all over the world, India’s position as ‘world Guru’ is being challenged by the lack of interest that India’s youth are showing in traditional ways of life. Read more (Hindi)
P.C. Jagran
Vehicles on Parikrama create huge traffic jam. On Gopashtami, vehicles were not stopped from entering the parikrama marg. This caused hour long traffic jams which the traffic police were helpless to control. Yesterday, on Akshay Navmi, there was a ‘walking traffic jam’ at bottlenecks and a slow moving human chain of devotees encircling the whole of the Mathura-Vrindavan parikrama route. Estimates of the number of devotees on parikrama vary from 5 lakh to over 9 lakh. Tourists’ cars and e-rickshaws movements were restricted and the day passed joyfully with no major incidents. Read more (Hindi)
Liquor shop licensing confusion. The lack of co-ordination between Government departments is creating chaos with liquor shops being closed down then re-opening again a few months later. Previously licences were not allowed in the Vrindavan town center, but, licenses were given for liquor shops to be run on the highway. A Supreme Court order in 2017 banned liquor outlets on highways connecting towns but these were allowed to run within municipal areas. Hindustan reports that when legally licensed outlets were shut down, the Excise Department lost crores of income, and now 46 new licences have been issued for highway liquor shops. Our only hope is that Vrindavan’s new status as a tirth sthal, will mean that the town’s authorities and residents will make greater efforts to live up to high standards. Read more (English)
P.C. Amar Ujala
Car stolen from Biharji colony. The trend of car theft in Vrindavan is increasing, with a Suzuki Swift stolen yesterday from in front of Raghuvir Ashram, Banke Bihari Colony. Laksman Das from Dehradun returned from taking Bihariji darshan to find that his car was gone. He asked around, but nobody gave any information, after which he dialled 100 for the police hotline and filed a report. Read more (Hindi)
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