Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai, Jan 4: A huge rally was organised by members of the Jain Community in Mumbai, Maharashtra on Wednesday to protest the Jharkhand government’s plan to designate the’sacred’ Shri Sammed Shikharji as a tourist destination.
The rally against the government’s decision is expected to draw more than 1 lakh participants, according to the organisers.
Maharashtra | Members of the Jain community protest in Mumbai against the decision of the Jharkhand govt to declare 'sacred' Shri Sammed Shikharji a tourist place pic.twitter.com/lKPxCIq0br
— ANI (@ANI) January 4, 2023
According to one of the organisers, the rally began at Metro and will conclude at Azad Maidan, where eminent supporters of the cause will speak.
“The government’s decision hurt our sentiments. We don’t want tourism revolving around a sacred place,” said one of the protesters to ANI.
If their demands are not satisfied, the protesters threatened to embark on a hunger strike in Maharashtra.
The Jharkhand government officially designated Shri Sammed Shikharji, a revered Jain pilgrimage site, at Parasnath Hills in Jharkhand as a tourism destination.
In protest of the government’s decision, the Jain saint Muni Sugyeya Sagar, who had been on an indefinite hunger strike, passed away on Tuesday in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Jain monk Shri Sagar gave his life today to defend pilgrimages, according to Acharya Sunil Sagar Maharaj, a Jain monk.
He claimed that there is a communication gap between the government and the general public.
