Temple comes up on glacier under nose of Uttarakhand authorities; baba under scanner

The matter came to the fore after a few residents from Badiyakot village (38 km from the site) met the District Magistrate to complain about Baba Yogi Chaitanya Akash, who has also been accused of violating the tradition by bathing in the holy lake near the site.

According to district officials, they were unaware of the encroachment as the area is not officially registered in their revenue records.

Kapkot sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Anurag Arya told The Indian Express that they have formed a joint team to investigate the matter but they will visit the spot only after the monsoons are over.

“That region, located in the Himalayan Range, is off-limits after June 15 each year due to hazardous monsoon conditions. Permits are issued exclusively by the forest department. On Monday, some residents from the high-altitude Badiyakot village informed us about a makeshift temple in Sunderdhanga glacier area, dedicated to Devi Bhagwati, where a Baba constructed an unauthorised temple,” Arya said.

“The villagers also claimed that Baba Yogi Chaitanya Akash bathed in Devi Kund against tradition. According to local belief, only those possessed by the Devi during the Nanda Ashtami fair in September are permitted to bathe in the Devi Kund,” said the SDM.

“According to our information, this temple was built before June 15 but it is yet to be confirmed how the Baba managed to carry the raw material to build the temple without the knowledge of the forest department,” said the SDM.

“We will also investigate why the locals allowed the construction of the temple and did not inform us earlier. The team we have formed will go to the spot once the weather gets better. We are also trying to trace Yogi Chaitanya Akash,” said the SDM.

Local Patwari Sanjay Singh said that it takes a two-day-long trek to reach the spot. “If instructed, we will also remove the encroachment,” he said.

The temple constructed using stones and metal sheets is built near a meadow adjacent to a lake in Sunderdhanga glacier area. The nearest settlement is more than 30 km away, and people typically visit the area with permission of the forest department in search of fodder or rare medicinal fungi like Keedajadi.