The Uttar Pradesh government proclaimed a 10-square-kilometer region around Lord Krishna’s birthplace in Mathura-Vrindavan a ‘teerth sthal’ (pilgrimage site) on Friday, prohibiting the sale of liquor and meat in the area, which encompasses 22 wards of the Mathura Nagar Nigam. The local government oversees 70 wards in the city.
The Yogi Adityanath government has previously designated seven additional places in Mathura as pilgrimage sites related to the lives of Lord Krishna and Radha. Vrindavan, Gokul, Barsana, Nandgaon, Goverdhan, Baldev and Radhakund are among them.
‘The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday declared 10 sq km area under Mathura Nagar Nigam a teerth sthal (pilgrimage spot). The area comprises 22 municipal wards of the municipality. This automatically means that meat and liquor cannot be sold in the area,’ said Navneet Sehgal, additional chief secretary (ACS), information department, UP.
Avnish Kumar Awasthi, the Additional Chief Secretary, issued a comprehensive order detailing the names of the 22 wards. The commissioner, Agra division, district magistrate (Mathura), SSP (Mathura), Mathura Nagar Nigam, and vice-chairman of the Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad in Mathura each received a copy of the decision. The decision was applauded in Mathura and Vrindavan.
Kapil Sharma, secretary of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Trust in Mathura said, ‘Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has kept his word and declared Mathura as teerth sthal. It was a long pending demand and will ensure the revival of the glorious past of this religious city with Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi as its centre. Devotees coming to Mathura were not happy over the sale of meat and liquor in the land of Krishna,’
The decision to identify 22 wards of Mathura as a pilgrimage destination was also hailed by Mahesh Pathak, national head of Akhil Bharatiya Teerth Purohit Mahasabha.
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‘There are 70 wards in Mathura-Vrindavan Nagar Nigam, including nine wards of Vrindavan, which already has pilgrimage site status. Of the remaining 61 wards of Mathura, 22 are being declared as pilgrimage spots. We would have loved having all 61 wards of Mathura Nagar Nigam as pilgrimage spots but declaring 22 wards with Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi as epicentre is no less a welcome decision,’ Pathak said.
Last month, when chief minister Yogi Adityanath went to Mathura to offer prayers to Lord Krishna at Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi, the subject of Mathura’s pilgrimage site status was also addressed. He advocated for the selling of meat and booze in the temple town in his speech. He also recommended that individuals selling meat and booze be rehabilitated by having them open milk vending machines.
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