Centre accepts Jains’ demand, says no to tourism at Parasnath

Ranchi: Hours after Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren wrote an open letter to Bhupender Yadav, the Union minister of forests and environment on safeguarding the sacred Parasnath hills, the ministry stayed all tourism and eco-tourism activities at the Sammed Shikharji Parvat Khsetra in Giridih’s Parasnath.
The Centre, in a statement, declared that the implementation of the provisions of clause three of the eco-sensitive zone notification (of August 2, 2019) pertaining to the Sammed Shikharji Parvat Kshetra had been “stayed forthwith, including amongst others all tourism and eco-tourism activities”. “The state government is directed to immediately take all steps to ensure the same,” the statement read.
Earlier in the day, hundreds of members from the Jain community took out a silent procession in the streets of Giridih to demand the removal of the tag of “tourist site” from their holy site.
Members of the community from Ranchi, Madhuban (Giridih), Koderma and other parts of the state participated in the silent march holding placards. A delegation met Giridih deputy commissioner Naman Priyesh Lakra and handed over a memorandum to him.
Soren in his letter to Yadav said that his government has received applications from several Jain pilgrims who demanded sanctity of the site and a rollback of the Union government’s notification dated August 2, 2019 (which notifies Parasnath as an eco-sensitive zone).