Govardhan, 2018.01.14 (VT): After the government announcement on Friday that a Shrine Board has been formed to take over the principal temples of Govardhan town (Mukharavind, Danghati and Mansi Ganga), there has been an expected show of displeasure from the priests of the temples. They have told the SDM that he can expect a movement in opposition to the proposal.
Sevaiyats from the three temples held a meeting at Danghati Girls Inter College on Saturday in which they showed their strong opposition to the takeover of the three temples. The priests said that it was tantamount to deliberate harassment of the priests who depend on the temples for their income. It will also affect the worship conducted there. They said this was an attempt to suppress the independence of the priests.
The priests warned that they will start a movement against the proposal. After the meeting was completed, the sevaiyats marched to the Govardhan Tehsil office, chanting anti-government slogans. On arrival they handed over a memorandum intended for the Chief Minister to the SDM D.P. Singh.
Participating in these events were Ramakant Kaushik, Shyam Sundar, Sonu Lambdar, Manish Laxdar, Prakit Kaushik, Member Pawan Kaushik, Navneet, Ras Bihari, Hari Purohit, Mukesh, Laxmi Narayan, Sunil, Ram, Raju Fauji, Manoj Kaka, Ganesh Pehlawan, Janardan Tiwari , Kapil Bohra etc.
In Vrindavan also, a meeting held at the Sanatan Sanskar Dham, Anand Vatika, where speakers expressed their reservations about the formation of the Govardhan Shrine Board. They feel it will affect the rights of the brahmins and priests, temple services and the income of the sevaiyats. There are about four lakhs of brahmins in Braja Mandal. More than half of these are involved in pilgrimage and temple services for their livelihood.
Acharya Nagendra Dutt said the BTVP (Braj Tirtha Vikas Parishad) should move forward only after consultation with the brahmin community.
Acharya Ramvilas Chaturvedi said that if any steps are taken in opposition to the to the brahmins contrary to the dictates of religion and shastra, then protest is inevitable.
Atulkrishna Goswami and Bihari Lal Vasisht said that the proposal to change darshan times at Bihariji and the formation of Shrine Boards should be abrogated.
Akhilesh Shastri, Madan Gopal Banerjee, Manoj Shastri, Kapil Pandit, Dr. Punit Kaushik, Shyamsundar Dubey, Ravi Sharma, Balakrishna Gautam, Krishun Murari Sharma, Manish Sharma, Mohan Sharma, Anmol Dikshit, Ram Babu Sharma, Anandgopal Mishra, Dr. Gopal Chaturvedi were some of the people present.
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