Gujarat Confidential: Parvat Puja

MARKING THE beginning of Vasant (Spring) on the occasion of Vasant Panchami, the Forest and Environment department of the Gujarat government on Friday organised a programme to worship mountains – Parvat Puja Ane Prakruti Sanrakshan Mahotsav – in Aravalli district’s Shamlaji. The function was presided over by Forest and Environment Minister Arjun Modhwadia. Parvat Puja is an ancient Indian tradition in which mountains are considered living deities. In his address, Modhwadia reiterated that “not an inch of Aravalli is going to be decreased”. Recently, amid a furore over the new definition of Aravalli mountain range in parts of the country, Modhwadia said the Gujarat government had never given sanction to mining in the Aravalli mountain ranges and its forest areas spread across several districts and would never grant such permission in future either.