Seven other areas in Mathura linked to the life of Lord Krishna and his consort Radha, have already been declared pilgrimage sites by the Yogi Adityanath regime. These include Vrindavan, Gokul, Barsana, Nandgaon, Goverdhan, Baldev and Radhakund.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday declared an area of 10 sq km around the birthplace of Lord Krishna in Mathura-Vrindavan as a “teerth sthal” (pilgrimage site) and banned the sale of liquor and meat in this area which spans 22 wards of the Mathura Nagar Nigam. The city has a total of 70 wards managed by the local body.
Seven other areas in Mathura linked to the life of Lord Krishna and his consort Radha, have already been declared pilgrimage sites by the Yogi Adityanath regime. These include Vrindavan, Gokul, Barsana, Nandgaon, Goverdhan, Baldev and Radhakund.
“The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday declared 10 sq km area under Mathura Nagar Nigam a teerth sthal (pilgrimage spot). The area comprises 22 municipal wards of the municipality. This automatically means that meat and liquor cannot be sold in the area,” said Navneet Sehgal, additional chief secretary (ACS), information department, UP.
Additional chief secretary Avnish Kumar Awasthi issued a detailed order, specifying the names of the 22 wards. A copy of the order was marked to the commissioner, Agra division, district magistrate (Mathura), SSP (Mathura), Mathura Nagar Nigam and vice-chairman of the Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad in Mathura.
The decision was welcomed in Mathura and Vrindavan.
“Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has kept his word and declared Mathura as teerth sthal. It was a long pending demand and will ensure the revival of the glorious past of this religious city with Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi as its centre. Devotees coming to Mathura were not happy over the sale of meat and liquor in the land of Krishna,” stated Kapil Sharma, secretary of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust in Mathura.
Mahesh Pathak, national president of Akhil Bharatiya Teerth Purohit Mahasabha, also welcomed the decision to declare 22 wards of Mathura as a pilgrimage site.
“There are 70 wards in Mathura-Vrindavan Nagar Nigam, including nine wards of Vrindavan, which already has pilgrimage site status. Of the remaining 61 wards of Mathura, 22 are being declared as pilgrimage spots. We would have loved having all 61 wards of Mathura Nagar Nigam as pilgrimage spots but declaring 22 wards with Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi as epicentre is no less a welcome decision,” stated Pathak.
The issue of pilgrimage site status to Mathura was raised on ‘Janmashtami’ last month when chief minister Yogi Adityanath was in Mathura to offer prayers to Lord Krishna at Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi. In his address, he favoured the sale of meat and liquor in the temple town. He even suggested that those engaged in the sale of meat and liquor be rehabilitated by getting them to open milk vends.
By Hemendra Chaturvedi and Pankaj Jaiswal, Hindustan Times, Agra/lucknow
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