Record 13 lakh bookings for Chardham Pilgrimage in eight days
The State Tourism Department called it a sign of record breaking flow of pilgrims to the four shrines as the pilgrimage season is scheduled to start on May 10.
With the main opposition party Congress launching an attack on the laser show at Kedarnath shrine, the state government has come out with a clarification on the issue.
The government has said that it has not spent a penny for production of the laser show as a private company is screening the show free of cost. The portals of Kedarnath will be thrown open for pilgrims on Sunday and the laser show is going to be a major draw from 29 April to 4 May.
The laser show in Kedarnath caught the attention of Congress leaders and they criticised the Trivendra Rawat government. Ex-Chief Minister Harish Rawat termed it an insult to Lord Shiva and his devotees.
By providing a clarification on the cost issue, the Uttarakhand government has pushed the Congress on the backfoot. During the previous Congress rule, the Harish Rawat government had paid a big sum to Sufi singer Kailash Kher for producing a documentary on Kedarnath, to highlight the flash-flood hit pilgrimage centre. The documentary by Kher is still stuck.
Uttarakhand tourism secretary Dilip Jawalkar said, “Akshar group will showcase establishing of ‘Shivlanga’ on the western wall in Kedarnath. The state government has not made any payment for the laser show to the company. The Akshar group of companies is hosting the show on the lines of Corporate Social Responsibility.”
The show titled ‘Aadi Anant Shiv’ will narrate the story of Lord Shiva. The laser show will be hosted from 29 April to 4 May. The 25-minute show will be screened twice or thrice daily. These days, the trial of the show is taking place photographs of the laser show are already there on the social media.
Uttarakhand tourism minister Satpal Maharaj said, “Kedarnath will be hosting its first ever laser show-depicting the story of lord Shiva.”
To provide additional facilities to tourists, the Uttarakhand tourism department is developing a mobile app, ‘simply heaven’, which will be launched soon.
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