MUMBAI: Politicians of all stripes are wading into the matter of the Babulnath temple shivling in Mumbai which has weathered with the passage of time.
Temple authorities have already commissioned IIT-Bombay to suggest measures to stem the wear and tear.
After BJP MP Mangal Prabhat Lodha requested the temple authorities to permit devotees to offer water at Mahashivratri, now the Congress party has stepped in to demand a swift “pre-restoration” of the shivling.
On March 13 Mumbai Congress president Bhai Jagtap visited Babulnath and assured the trustees of “all cooperation” in its restoration. His aide Ajit Singh, chairman of the Investor & Consumer Protection Cell of the Mumbai Congress, wrote to CM Eknath Shinde and PM Narendra Modi to “save” the relic. He said, “If the shivling is not urgently restored then it runs the risk of becoming ‘khandit’ (damaged).”
Temple trustees feel pressurised and say they have already commissioned IIT-Bombay to prepare a blueprint for restoration which is expected by March 31. Babulnath chairman Nitin Thakker said, “We have categorically stated that the shivling is not damaged or ‘khandit’. Otherwise how would our own priests offer worship? And we are already taking corrective steps by prohibiting devotees from offering any oblation (abhishek) other than water. We have stopped them from applying milk, sandal, turmeric, ash, and any substance that can contain chemicals. We wish that the matter not be politicised.”
Temple authorities have already commissioned IIT-Bombay to suggest measures to stem the wear and tear.
After BJP MP Mangal Prabhat Lodha requested the temple authorities to permit devotees to offer water at Mahashivratri, now the Congress party has stepped in to demand a swift “pre-restoration” of the shivling.
On March 13 Mumbai Congress president Bhai Jagtap visited Babulnath and assured the trustees of “all cooperation” in its restoration. His aide Ajit Singh, chairman of the Investor & Consumer Protection Cell of the Mumbai Congress, wrote to CM Eknath Shinde and PM Narendra Modi to “save” the relic. He said, “If the shivling is not urgently restored then it runs the risk of becoming ‘khandit’ (damaged).”
Temple trustees feel pressurised and say they have already commissioned IIT-Bombay to prepare a blueprint for restoration which is expected by March 31. Babulnath chairman Nitin Thakker said, “We have categorically stated that the shivling is not damaged or ‘khandit’. Otherwise how would our own priests offer worship? And we are already taking corrective steps by prohibiting devotees from offering any oblation (abhishek) other than water. We have stopped them from applying milk, sandal, turmeric, ash, and any substance that can contain chemicals. We wish that the matter not be politicised.”
