Kedarnath is one of the most important pilgrimage site which is part of Chota Char Dham in Uttarakhand. Every year, lakhs of devotees visit the sacred dham, dedicated to Lord Shiva's Kedar form. Many take the journey by walking and many cover the yatra through horses or mules as they rely on them. But, one thing that has been avoided every time is the deaths of horses and mules during the Kedarnath Yatra due to overexertion, poor nutrition, lack of proper care which leads to infectious diseases like Equine Influenza. A man in a video showcasing dead horse been pulled out by group of men during Kedarnath yatra raises concerns on deaths of horses and mules, has gone viral and now it becomes a topic of discussion, at least among people on internet.
Kedarnath pilgrimage concerns
There have been a number of cases of the deaths of mules and horses during pilgrimage journey like Kedarnath and the issues like this has been raised by animal welfare but no action has been taken by the government. Recently, a video of a tourist in Kedarnath has been surfaced online which has become viral. In the video a man is seen standing against backdrop of Kedarnath and shows a dead horse being pulled by his leg by a group of men and he says, "Dekho Kedarnath me ye haal hai." He further says, "agar pairo me jaan ho tabhi Kedarnath aayein. Agar aap Kedarnath yatra kisi pashu ko maar ke darshan kar rahe ho to paap kama kare ho ya punya kama rahe ho, ye mujhe nhi pata, aap kudh soch sakte ho..Har Har Mahadev."
Netizens reaction
As soon as the video surfaced on social media, it took internet by storm and got flooded with netizens reaction.
An user named nitesh_me247 said, "Jitni Shakti utni Bhakti rakho, pashu ko takleef ghor paap hai, Mahadev sab dekh rahe hain."
A user named, PROTECT ALL WILDLIFE, said, "Animals are not ours to use and abuse EVER!"
Questioning about animal cruelty, one user captioned, "The is your journey not the horses journey! Don’t put that on the horses! More of the evils of religion! If you want to take the pilgrimage to the temple then walk there yourself!."
About Kedarnath- A sacred Dham of Lord Shiva
Kedarnath is one of the sacred pilgrimage site which is a part of Char Dham Yatra circuit, also known as Chota Char Dham in Uttarakhand. It is also part of the revered Panch Kedar, which is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Situated on the bank of Mandakini river, it is a challenging trek of 17 to 19 km which starts from Gaurikund.
