Class ‘A’ religious site status to Trimbakeshwar opens doors for central govt funds

Nashik: Trimbakeshwar Temple, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas, has now been accorded the status of a Class A religious site, paving the way for central govt funds.
Trimbakeshwar Municipal Council had adopted a resolution on Aug 28 last year demanding the status, which was granted by the committee headed by the principal secretary of urban development department during its meeting on Feb 20. The govt issued a resolution on March 27, according Class A status to Trimbakeshwar Council, which manages the temple.
"It has been a very strong demand by the people of the town that Class A status be accorded to the town, which is very small and does not have enough resources to provide good services to the pilgrims who come to the temple from across the country and abroad," said Rupali Bhutada, one of the temple trustees.
"The new status will help the central govt to directly fund developmental projects, which is a major step considering the huge developmental plans being chalked out in the backdrop of forthcoming Simhastha Mela. A darshan mandap has been proposed in Simhastha plan at a cost of Rs 240 crore. The reclassification paves the way for the central govt to fund the project," said the officer.
It may be noted that the town, nestled in the laps of Brahmagiri Mountains within 1.75 sq km of area, has a population of about 15,000 people and a floating population of at least 25,000 daily. It draws a huge crowd of about one to five lakh daily on several occasions like the Mondays of Shravan month, Sant Nivruttinath Maharaj Yatra, Ganga Godavari Utsav, Mahashivratri annually, besides Simhastha Mela every 12 years.