Amid Jains across the country protesting any move to promote tourism in Parasnath Hills, one of the holiest places for the community, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Thursday urged the Centre to take an "appropriate decision" on one of its notifications.
Though Soren wrote to Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav on an August 2019 notification issued by the Centre that called for promoting tourism and eco-tourism in Parasnath Wildlife Sanctuary, he maintained silence on another February 2019 notification issued by the then BJP government in the state that designated Parasnath Hills as a tourist spot.
Parasnath Wildlife Sanctuary is a part of the Parasnath Hills in Giridih district.
Soren said that the state government has so far not acted on provisions in the Centre's notification keeping in view the sentiments of the Jain community.
"As per applications received from followers of Jainism, have written a letter to Union Forest Minister Bhupender Yadav to take an appropriate decision on Centre's notification to maintain the sanctity of Sammed Shikhar in Parasnath," Soren said in a tweet.
Shri Sammed Shikharji in Parasnath Hills in Giridih district, home to the highest peak in the state some 160 km from Ranchi, is among the holiest places of the Jains, including for both Digambaras and Shwetambars sects, as 20 of the 24 Jain Tirthankaras attained 'moksha' (salvation) in this location.
Soren, in the letter, said police patrolling has been intensified in the area to ensure that the sanctity of the place is maintained.
The Jain community has been demanding the scrapping of all notifications declaring the place as a tourist spot, fearing it may lead to the consumption of liquor and non-vegetarian food in the area, which will hurt their sentiments.