As Jains Slam “Tourist Place” Tag For Sammed Shikharji Shrine In Jharkhand, Hemant Soren Taps Centre
Ranchi: Reacting to protests by Jains over designating their main shrine Sammed Shikharji in Jharkhand as an eco tourism destination, the central government has halted all such activities in the larger Parasnath Hills, where it is located. It has also told the state to acts strictly against banned practices such as consumption of liquor or “defiling of sites of religious and cultural significance” or damage to the ecology. Jain community leaders fear that designating the place as a tourist destination may “hurt its sanctity”. Earlier today, Chief Minister Hemant Soren wrote to the Centre to seek “appropriate decisions” on its 2019 notification. He wrote that the state’s 2021 tourism policy — it is also being opposed by the community — is for forming a management board that can better manage the shrine. Led by the state’s Tourism Secretary, it will have six non-government members who are being chosen from the Jain community, the letter said. It added that the community’s opposition was to declaring Parasnath Hills, where the shrine is located, as an “eco tourism” area. The letter …