Pushkar Kumbh in Uttarakhand after 12 years
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has formally announced the inauguration of the Pushkar Kumbh Mela in Mana village, close to Badrinath Dham, after waiting for 12 years. Going on to the social media site X, Dhami announced that the religious congregational meeting is being organised at the sacred confluence of the Alaknanda and Saraswati rivers, representing India's eternal religious customs.advertisementIn his message, the Chief Minister referred to the festival as a "living example of the divinity of our eternal traditions" and issued a warm welcome to all the devotees coming to Dev bhoomi for the festival.12 ,pic.twitter.com/EPw7nOdyT5— Pushkar Singh Dhami (@pushkardhami) May 15, 2025Earlier, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also visited a religious ceremony at Almora's Dol Ashram, where he discussed the increasing significance of spiritual tourism in the state and work being done under the Manaskhand Mandir Mala Mission to improve temple infrastructure.
Pushkar Kumbh is one of India's holiest pilgrimages, and it attracts spiritual seekers, saints, and travellers from all over the country and the world.
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India Gazette
6 days ago
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Indian Express
6 days ago
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Last week, the Ministry of Home Affairs temporarily allotted Nainital's Metropole Hotel Complex — classified as enemy property — to the state government for use as a parking facility. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had requested the allotment in light of the serious parking issues in the popular hill station. Built in 1880, Metropole was owned by the Raja of Mahmudabad and is one of the oldest luxury hotels in Nainital. This is where Mohammad Ali Jinnah and his wife Rattanbai honeymooned in 1918. The design of its roof came to be known as Nainital-pattern-roofing, which the British then used in many buildings across India. However, the hotel was later classified as enemy property, setting in motion its slow decline. After Mohammad Amir Ahmed Khan, the Raja of Mahmudabad, moved to Pakistan post Partition, his considerable properties in north India, including the 11-acre Nainital hotel, were declared enemy property. His son and heir Mohammad Amir Khan, who remained in India, fought a 30-year-long legal battle for the properties, and eventually secured a favourable Supreme Court order in 2005. However, his win opened the floodgates for similar litigation across the country, with genuine or purported relatives of people who had migrated to Pakistan producing deeds of gift claiming they were the rightful owners of enemy properties. On July 2, 2010, the UPA government promulgated an ordinance that restrained courts from ordering the government to divest enemy properties from the Custodian. The 2005 SC order was thus rendered ineffective. Hosting history Metropole, says historian and former professor Dr Ajay Rawat, was frequented by tall figures of history. 'Pandit Rahul Sanskrityayan, who was an exceptional scholar with proficiency in almost 11 languages, stayed there and wrote his famous work, Kumaun. Historian Dr Satyaketu Vidyalankar briefly maintained it,' he said. 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An alumna of Asian College of Journalism and the University of Kerala, she started her career at The Indian Express as a sub-editor in the Delhi city team. In her current position, she reports from Gurgaon and covers the neighbouring districts. She likes to tell stories of people and hopes to find moorings in narrative journalism. ... Read More
New Indian Express
02-06-2025
- New Indian Express
Faith and fortune: Kedarnath yatra fuels Rs 200 crore economic boom in one month
DEHRADUN: The Shri Kedarnath Dham Yatra, a beacon of faith for 800 million Sanatani Hindus worldwide, is consistently setting new benchmarks, with this year's pilgrimage already generating an astounding Rs 200 crore in revenue within just one month of its commencement. This spiritual journey is not only a profound experience for devotees but also the backbone of Uttarakhand's economy, with 'hotel operators alone accounting for over Rs 100 crore of this impressive sum,' official sources revealed. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami affirmed the Yatra's role as Uttarakhand's spiritual and cultural axis. He stated, "The government's goal is not just to provide facilities to pilgrims, but also to economically empower local youth, women, and traders."
