Uttarakhand: Photography banned inside Kedarnath Dham Temple, violators to face legal consequences

Rudraprayag (Uttarakhand) [India]: Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee on Monday announced a complete prohibition of photography and videography inside Kedarnath Temple premises.

The temple committee has also posted warning signs throughout the Kedarnath Temple premises, advising visitors that if they are seen taking pictures or recordings, legal action will be taken against them.

Boards are put up in several places of the temple premises which read, ‘Do not enter the temple premises with mobile phones; any kind of photography and videography is strictly prohibited inside the temple and you are under the surveillance of CCTV cameras’.

Speaking to media, President of Shri Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee Ajay Ajendra said that the pilgrims visiting the Kedarnath Dham have also been urged to dress modestly, and said that these guidelines have been released in light of certain obscene behaviour reported in the past.

“Pilgrims to Kedarnath have been urged to dress modestly. In the past, some pilgrims had been caught filming and taking photos indecently inside the temple,” Ajay Ajendra told media.

The temple committee imposed this ban after a wrong message was sent due to the purported indecent behaviour of certain pilgrims. Warning boards have also been installed at Kedarnath to implement the guidelines strictly, said the Temple Committee President.

Earlier this month, following the viral video in which a girl was seen proposing to her boyfriend near Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand, Shri Badarinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) wrote to Kedarnath Dham Police seeking a ban on making videos around the temple area.

In the letter, BKTC asked Kedarnath Dham Police to keep strictly monitor the area around the Temple and take action against those making YouTube shorts/videos/Instagram reels to ensure any such incident is not repeated.

This comes after a girl proposed her boyfriend near Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand. During this, a friend of the girl made a video that went viral on social media.

After the video went viral, a debate broke out among internet users. After knowing about this matter, the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee has taken a tough stand in this matter.

The temple committee says that making such videos or reels on the premises has a negative impact on the religious sanctity of the place. The temple committee has asked the police to take action against the people making such videos.