MATHURA: The repeal the Devasthanam Board Act in Uttrakhand was a welcome step, a prominent body of Hindu priests said on Tuesday and stressed that the community should remain united to preserve the culture of the country.
Priests in the hill state had been agitating against the Act under which the Devasthanam Board was set up to manage the four Himalayan shrines - Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri - and 49 other temples.
With the repeal of the Act, the management of these shrines will again be in the hands of priests.
"The decision, though belated, is welcome," Mahesh Pathak, national president of Akhil Bhartiya Tirth Purohit Mahasabha told reporters.
He praised Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami for the step and attributed the repeal of the law to the unity of priests of Uttarakhand and the support from priests of other states.
He advised the priests of every state to maintain unity as in Uttarakhand for protecting the culture of the country.