Sacred Spot Turns Swimming Pool: Baba Builds Temple On Uttarakhand Glacier (representational image)

A self-styled godman called Baba Yogi Chaitanya Akash built an unauthorised temple on government land at over 5,000 metres (16,500 feet) on Uttarakhand’s Sunderdhunga glacier in Bageshwar.

The construction has triggered massive outrage among the locals, who claim that the temple in the eco-sensitive area is a “desecration.” The local administration has launched an investigation into the construction of the unauthorised temple.

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A team from the forest department, police, and revenue office is expected to visit Devi Kund, the place where the temple is built, to remove the encroachment and take appropriate action against the godman. According to a Times of India report, ND Pandey, ranger, Glacier Range, added, “We have received communication about this. A team is being dispatched to assess the situation at the location.”

Meanwhile, the Baba claimed to have received divine instructions to construct the temple in the mountainous region.

For the locals, the kund is a sacred spot for pilgrims and locals that has been reportedly turned into a “swimming pool” by the self-styled godman. Mahendra Singh Dhami, a villager, said that the Baba can be often seen bathing in the water. He added that the Baba had persuaded the villagers to support the construction because Devi Bhagwati had appeared in his dreams with instructions to build the temple at Devi Kund.

“It is desecration. There is no doubt about that,” Dhami said.

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Describing the encroachment as “blasphemy,” another local said, “For centuries, our deities have visited the kund during the Nanda Raj Yatra every 12 years. Now, this so-called baba has misled villagers and established this temple against our traditions.”