A controversy has erupted on social media over the value of gold used to plate the sanctum sanctorum of the Kedarnath temple with some estimates putting its value at 1.15 lakh kharab. One kharab equals Rs 10,000 crores.
A video which claims the value of the gold has been doing the rounds on social media for a while now.
In addition, Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati has revived an old controversy stating that 228 kilograms of gold from the temple is missing and that it has not been investigated. A large part of the wall of the sanctum sanctorum had been covered in soot leading to speculation that no gold had been used on the wall.
The Shri Badrinath Kedarnath Mandir Committee has clarified that a total of 23,777.800 gram gold has been used to plate the inner side of the temple in 2022. At current rates the value of this is about Rs 14.38 crores. Copper plates which have been further used with gold are 1,001.3 kilograms and cost Rs 29 lakhs.
In June 2023, a controversy had erupted that the gold used in the sanctum sanctorum was actually brass. The temple committee had then dismissed the allegations and clarified that the donor was responsible for the entire process, right from buying the plates to the installation and that the committee itself had no role to play.
All information floating about on social media is false and the temple committee strongly denies it, said the body in a statement. “The committee will take appropriate action against those responsible for sharing fake news,” the statement read.
