A self-styled godman constructed an unauthorized temple on government land at an altitude of around 5,000 meters on the Sunderdhunga glacier in Bageshwar, Uttarakhand.
Baba Yogi Chaitanya Akash claimed he received divine instructions to construct the temple in the mountain area. Mahendra Singh Dhami, a villager informed, “The Baba influenced villagers to support the temple building project.” He informed that Baba said, “Devi Bhagwati appeared in his dreams and directed him to build the temple at Devi Kund.”
While another person from the village stated, “This is profanity. For generations, our deities have visited the kund during the Nanda Raj Yatra every 12 years, which is a scared spot. Now, this so-called baba has misled villagers and established this temple and disregarded our traditions.”
However, the local government has opened an investigation into the unapproved development. Anurag Arya, the Kapkot sub-divisional magistrate, indicated that a team from the forest department, police, and revenue office are scheduled to visit Devi Kund to remove the encroachment and take necessary action against Yogi Chaitanya.
“We have received information about this the mandir’s construction. A team is being dispatched to review the situation at the location,” stated ND Pandey, ranger, Glacier Range.