Devotees can have ‘VIP darshan’ at Chintpurni after paying fee

UNA (HP), Aug 9 (PTI): Devotees can have ‘VIP darshan’ at Maa Chintpurni temple in Una district after
paying a fee of Rs 1,100 for a group of five, the first temple to offer such a facility in Himachal Pradesh.
Devotees who avail the facility don’t have to stand in the queue for their turn, officials said on
Wednesday.
No fee will be charged from ministers, MLAs, MPs and other VIPs as well as devotees of 65 years or
more and Divyang (differently-abled).
Under the Sugam Darshan Pranali (system), a pass will be given to five people for a fee of Rs 1100 and
these devotees would get hassle-free darshan. In total, 500 people will be accommodated every day.
“Chintpurni temple is the first temple in the state to make such arrangements and the step would avoid
chaos created when VIPs come for darshan besides increasing the income of the temple
administration,” an official said. The temple commissioner-cum SDM Amb Vivek Mahajan said that
there would be four categories. In the first category, a fee of Rs 1100 would get darshan without
waiting.
The temple trust will decide on whether children will be included in the category or not, he added.
In the second and third categories, devotees of 65 years or more and Divyang (disabled person) will get
VIP darshan without any fee and their co-passenger will have to pay just Rs 50 for the darshan.
The fourth category will be of ministers, MLAs, MPs and VIPs decided by the administration, from whom
no fee will be charged.
A waiting hall has been made in Baba Maidas Sadan for the devotees in these categories.
Arrangements have been made for the devotees to sit about one kilometre away from the temple and
they would be brought to the lift in an electric golf cart operated by the temple trust and dropped back
after darshan. Online booking facility for ‘havan’ is already available on the temple premises.
Meanwhile, the leader of opposition in state assembly Jai Ram Thakur in a statement issued here on
Wednesday termed the move as unfortunate.
He said that keeping a fee for “Darshan of Maa” is incorrect and the government should immediately
take back the decision.
“Such a practice is against the traditions of dev Bhoomi Himachal and such VIP culture should be
abolished. The government cannot discriminate among devotees,” he added.