By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 26 Apr: Cabinet Minister and Rajpur MLA Khajan Das’s son is due to get married tonight and for this lavish wedding ceremony arrangements had been made at Sureshwari Devi Temple located in Rajaji Tiger Reserve in district Haridwar. However, as the news spread over the controversy of holding a lavish ceremony within the National Park area, the Forest Department was forced to step in and dismantle the lavish wedding arrangements at Sureshwari Devi Temple.
The preparations had included pandals, stages, coolers and generators, all set up without formal permission in the core forest zone. Once the matter drew public attention, officials swiftly removed the structures and registered a case under the Forest Act against temple committee members. The intervention followed earlier plans to hold both the wedding and reception at the temple, sparking outrage among environmentalists and devotees who questioned how such activity was allowed in a protected area.
Yesterday, the trucks were seen ferrying the tents, chairs and other materials into the reserve, and the temple complex was decorated for the ceremony. Images and videos of the arrangements went viral on social media, raising concerns about disturbance to elephants, leopards and other wildlife. This forced the Forest Department to step in and this morning, the park administration closed the gates, inconveniencing even the routine devotees, before reopening them later in the day. The officials later clarified that only limited rituals such as puja and the seven wedding vows would be permitted, with no large-scale celebrations.
Khajan Das, who arrived at the temple with his son and the bride’s family, defended the decision to perform rituals there, citing his family’s long-standing faith in the Goddess and claiming that forest officials had earlier indicated their consent to him for the wedding ceremony and the reception. He alleged political motives behind the controversy and insisted that he respected forest laws, adding that he would have chosen another venue had the restrictions been made clear to him in advance.
Temple committee general secretary Ashish Marwari asserted that the minister only wished to conduct puja and a community feast, not a grand celebration. He also accused the critics of exaggerating the scale of the event. He maintained that the forest department was free to act but denied that the programme was as extensive as portrayed.
Meanwhile, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF and HoFF) Ranjan Kumar Mishra reiterated that no function can be permitted in the core zone. He claimed that an inquiry would be conducted as to how the materials were brought in. Rajaji Tiger Reserve Warden Ajay Lingwal stated that permission for a wedding could not be granted and that all the unauthorised arrangements had been removed. The incident however, indicates callousness both on the part of the minister as well as the forest department. Now both are engaged in laying blame on each other indirectly.
