Shankaracharya for proper last rites of Kedarnath skeletons

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 21

Shankaracharya Adhokshjanand Devteerath of Puri has sought proper last rites of skeletons being recovered from Kedarnath even as he refused to blame the state Congress government for it.

Adhokshjanand Devteerath while addressing a press conference in Dehradun yesterday, admitted that taking into account the scale of death and destruction in Kedarnath, the recovery of skeletons was but natural. “We should ensure proper conduct of last rites of these skeletons,” he said.

He added that the state government was doing the needful. He said an agency could be assigned the task of pulling out the remaining skeletons.

He said he had visited Kedarnath recently and found the facilities there far better. The stationing of sector magistrates on the yatra route was a welcome development and would greatly help in facilitating pilgrims. He said even the condition of roads had improved substantially.

On the issue of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the Shankaracharya said both RSS and BJP had never been sincere towards the issue of Ram Temple and had only resorted to collection of donations. The NDA government at the Centre was also not sincere towards cleaning the Ganga, he added.

Referring to International Yoga Day, he said yoga had always been part of the life of an Indian and thus, celebrations of any kind linked to it had little meaning.