Ujjain: Free entry to Mahakal Temple restricted to few categories

Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh): New protocol arrangements will come into force at the Mahakaleshwar Temple from Wednesday. Accordingly, designated persons, religious personalities and media persons will be allowed in the temple without any charge. Those who want to have quick darshan of the presiding deity will have to pay Rs 250.

According to a release of the Mahakaleshwar Temple Management Committee, after the construction of Shri Mahakal Lok in Shri Mahakaleshwar temple the darshan time has been reduced to 30 minutes. The aspirants of quick darshan also now give priority to darshan from Maan Sarovar Bhawan.

 In the same order, the necessity of recalibrating the quota received under protocol facility to various departments was felt and in the

This decision was taken unanimously in a meeting of the temple management committee held on January 27.

Sadhu-saint, mahant, mahamandaleshwar, Shankaracharya, peethadhishwar and counterparts, dharmacharyas and members of Ujjain Press Clubs and State-level accredited journalists (only for themselves) will be able to get admission under the darshan arrangement. The new system will be implemented with effect from February 1, the release added.

CONGRESS OPPOSES NEW ARRANGEMENTS

The Congress has opposed the new system. 

Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Vivek Gupta alleged that the administration has made the Mahakal temple a place of business and the Congress party strongly opposes it.  

The party said that large-scale corruption is taking place in the temple. Workers are fed Mahakal laddoos free of cost in PM Modi’s public meeting. The compensation for houses demolished has been made from the accounts of the Mahakal temple head and to compensate for these expenses a fee of Rs 250 is being collected from the common devotees in the protocol system. 

PROVIDE PROTOCOL TO PRIESTS OF MAJOR TEMPLES AS WELL

The priests of the major temples of the country also come to visit the Mahakal temple, but they are not given any kind of free arrangement or protocol. This is an insult to the priests. Rupesh Mehta, state secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Pujari Mahasangh, has commented that saints, mahants, mahamandaleshwar, Shankaracharya, peethadhishwar and equivalent dharmacharyas are not the heads of the temples. They are only the heads of their akharas and ashrams while the priest is the main part of the temple and is the councillor of God, who has living contact with all sections. The priest is respected by the people of the Sanatani Hindu religion and society. Keeping this in mind, the priests of the country’s temples should also be given the facility of free darshan in the Mahakal temple as per the protocol, he demanded.