The Hindu : Sadhus upset

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 30, 2003

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Sadhus upset

By Arunkumar Bhatt

A pilgrim worshipping an idol partially submerged in the flooded Godavari in Nasik on Tuesday, the eve of the month-long Kumbh Mela. — AP

NASIK JULY 29. The Simhastha kumbh mela, a month-long Hindu pageantry of rituals and celebrations, gets under way on the banks of the river Godavari here and at Tryambakeshwar, 30 km. away, tomorrow at 11.51 a.m., when the Simhastha begins.

The Lok Sabha Speaker, Manohar Joshi, will hoist the religious flag in Nasik on the dot to mark the entry of Sun and Jupiter in the zodiac sign of Leo, the beginning of the Simhastha year, believed to be the most auspicious time for praying for salvation.

But the fete has come under the shadow of Monday's Ghatkopar bomb blast and the boycott of the ceremonies by thousands of sadhus to protest against the Union Tourism Minister, Jagmohan's ``bid to acquire temples'' built and run by sadhus.

The Akhada Parishad and 13 Akhadas (orders) of the Sadhus, Shaivites and three Vaishnavites have threatened further action, including non-participation in five rituals of taking of holy dips in the Godavari, and even demonstrations by naked sadhus before Parliament."Instead of stripping on the river bank, we will strip in New Delhi if the Government does not withdraw the notices — 95 in Kurukshetra (Haryana) and 20 in Rajasthan, "Mahant Parmanand Saraswati, chief of the Shambhu Panch Dashnam Juna Akhada, who spearheads the sadhus' campaign, told The Hindu at his camp in Tryambakeshwar.The Akhadas are also angry at the authorities, particularly the district administrations for not providing the necessary infrastructure despite getting huge funds of Rs. 448 crores from the Union Government., Rs. 75 crores from the Maharashtra Government, Rs. 63 crores from the Godavari Action Plan, New Delhi, and Rs. 100 crores from the Nasik Municipal Corporation. They feel that instead of providing the facilities, the authorities have made it an official affair. Earlier, the Government's involvement used to be minimum and the sadhus used to come months ahead to take care of the facilities they needed, according to a former Mayor of Nasik, Mangilal Sarda.

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