NEW DELHI: The Khatu Shyam temple committee in Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur district has placed a banner asking devotees to wear ”decent clothes” while visiting the revered temple. According to the news agency ANI, the temple committee has banned “short clothes or ripped jeans” inside the temple premises.
The Khatu Shyam temple committee has put up a banner informing that a new dress code has been implemented for the devotees visiting the temple. As per the banner, the committee has urged the devotees to come to the temple while wearing only ‘decent’ clothes that will cover their bodies properly.
UP | Dress code implemented in Khatu Shyam temple in Hapur district. Short clothes, ribbed jeans & night suits banned inside the temple (29/06) pic.twitter.com/tavEnRkDQi— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) June 30, 2023
Devotees have been urged not to wear short clothes such as half pants, Bermuda shirts, mini skirts, ripped jeans and night suits while they visit the temple. The temple committee has also cautioned that if any devotee is spotted wearing ‘inappropriate’ clothes, he or she will have to offer prayers from outside the temple.
Several devotees have welcomed the temple committee’s decision to implement the new dress code. ANI also reported a devotee, Naveen Goyal, saying “A dress code has been implemented in the temple. This is a good decision. People must wear clothes that are appropriate for the temple”
Naveen Goyal, a devotee says, “A dress code has been implemented in the temple. This is a good decision. People must wear clothes that are appropriate for the temple” pic.twitter.com/g4qNXZ3Xu9— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) June 30, 2023
Recently, several prominent temples across the country have implemented similar dress codes for devotees, especially young boys and girls. The Mahanirvani Akhara in Uttarakhand, which controls several temples, is among them which has implemented the dress code for devotees.
Among other temples where a dress code has been implemented in Uttarakhand are Daksh Prajapati Temple at Kankhal in Haridwar, Neelkanth Mahadev Temple in Pauri district and Tapkeshwar Mahadev Temple in Dehradun.
While speaking to ANI, Shrimahant Ravindra Puri, Secretary of Mahanirvani Akhara and President of Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad, said, “Women and girls cannot enter these three temples wearing short clothes. These three temples come under Mahanirvani Akhara.” Puri has appealed to the women coming with their family members to come to the temples wearing such clothes that cover at least 80 per cent of their body.
Puri also backed Akhara’s Mahanirvani Akhara’s decision by saying that this system is already in force in temples of South India and Maharashtra. He added, “Now this system is being implemented here also. So that the devotees coming to the temple do not face any uncomfortable situation,” adding that a temple is a place for introspection and not for entertainment.