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Following a meeting with influential people, priests, contractors and members of the minority community, the Badrinath police in Chamoli have asked Muslims not to celebrate Bakrid (Eid al-Adha) and offer namaz in the temple town.
According to police, only around 10-12 Muslims are living in Badrinath. They are not permanent residents. They are mostly workers involved in the Badrinath Dham masterplan, police said.
Kailash Chandra Bhatt, SHO of Badrinath police station, said that the contractors who have employed the Muslim workers have been asked to make sure that they offer the Bakrid Namaz in Joshimath or other neighbouring towns. The step was taken in the wake of the controversy erupted two years ago over reports that Namaz was offered on the Badrinath temple premises on Bakrid.
It was later clarified by the police that construction workers, who were involved in building a parking lot close to the temple, offered Namaz inside a closed space without using loudspeakers and without the presence of any cleric.
“It was decided that there will be no namaz in Shri Badrinath Dham. This is because Namaz was never read here. That has never been a tradition and there is no mosque here. The Muslims have to offer Namaz in Joshimath, Karnaprayag or other nearby towns,” Bhatt said.
The nearest town from Badrinath is Joshimath, which is around 40 kilometres away.
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