Amid reports that mule owners and workers hailing from Nepal consume meat and other non-vegetarian food items on the route to the Kedarnath shrine, local BJP legislator and tirth purohits have urged the Uttarakhand government to ban the entry of non-Hindus into the shrine area.

BJP MLA from Kedarnath Asha Nautiyal, along with local priests and purohits, has alleged that they have been receiving complaints about meat, other non-vegetarian food items, and liquor being supplied and served on the route to the Kedarnath shrine. This was disclosed by local businessmen at a recent meeting with the minister in-charge of the Kedarnath assembly seat, Saurabh Bahuguna. They have urged the Pushkar Singh Dhami government to ban the entry of such people, especially non-Hindus, as the annual Chardham pilgrimage 2025 is scheduled to begin in early May.

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“The entry of non-Hindus should be banned in Kedarnath Dham, one of the four dhams in Uttarakhand. Non-Hindus working in the area are trying to bring disrepute to the Kedarnath shrine. They must be banned from coming to the Kedarnath area,” said Nautiyal.

The BJP MLA further said, “A few days ago, the minister in-charge of Rudraprayag district, Saurabh Bahuguna, chaired a meeting with local businessmen, hotel-dhaba owners, and horse-mule operators to take stock of the Kedarnath Yatra preparations for the coming season. Local people complained to the minister that some individuals are supplying meat, liquor, and other non-vegetarian food items in the Kedarnath area. The local public and businessmen want the government to impose a ban on the entry of these people into the Kedarnath area.”

Most of the mule operators offering their services in Kedarnath during winters, when the pilgrimage remains closed due to extreme cold, are non-Hindus. Mules are primarily used to transport construction materials to the Kedarnath temple area during this period, ensuring a steady stock for the ongoing reconstruction work in the Kedarnath temple area—a dream project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mule and horse operators during this period are predominantly non-Hindus, while construction workers commuting on the Kedarnath track are migrants from Nepal. According to local priests, these construction workers and non-Hindu mule operators carry meat and liquor to the shrine area.

Asha Nautiyal further alleged that, as the state assembly representative of the Kedarnath constituency, she has been consistently receiving complaints about the consumption of animal flesh and liquor near the Kedarnath shrine area. “The supply of liquor and meat by non-Hindus here is a deliberate attempt and conspiracy to defame and denigrate the sanctity of the Kedarnath pilgrimage,” said the BJP MLA, demanding that the Dhami government formulate a strict action plan to curb such anti-religious practices.

The demand to ban non-Hindus from entering Kedarnath has not only come from the BJP legislator but also from local tirth purohits. “The consumption of liquor and meat in the Kedarnath area, one of the most revered seats of Lord Shiva, cannot be tolerated. Everyone here, including the local administration, is aware of this malpractice by people from another community. However, no action has been taken. The Chardham Yatra will commence in the next one and a half months, and we demand that the government immediately put an end to this practice by anti-Hindu elements. Otherwise, we will be forced to take alternative measures,” said Vinod Shukla, a priest and an official of the Kedarnath Mahasabha, an association of local tirth purohits.

The 2025 annual Chardham pilgrimage in Uttarakhand will commence with the opening of portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri on April 30, followed by Kedarnath temple on May 2 and Badrinath shrine on May 4.