Social media influencers and reel hunters upset netizens: Kedarnath Dham mulls ban on mobile phones

Amid the growing instances of social media influencers shooting videos and reels in Kedarnath Dham premises, the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) has now written to senior police officers to "take strict action against such persons," adding that they are planning to "set up a cloak room, where the mobile handsets of devotees can be deposited in order to curb these practices in future," TOI reported.

This comes days after a video of a YouTuber purportedly proposing to her boyfriend inside the temple premises went viral on social media and enraged netizens. The BKTC has termed this "a trend that is hurting the shrine's religious sanctity". Moreover, the BKTC executive officer, Ramesh Chandra Tiwari, said: "It has come to our notice that some social media influencers are shooting videos at Kedarnath that are religiously objectionable and have hurt the feelings of devotees. Strict action should be taken in this regard so that such acts are not repeated in a place of worship."

BKTC chief Ajendra Ajay, meanwhile, told TOI that while a cloak room to deposit devotees' mobile phones is being considered, there are logistical challenges in it. Notably, similar efforts in the past to check the use of mobile phones in Kedarnath have failed after authorities termed the move "not practically possible".