Nashik: With demonetisation tightening its grip across the country , people are forced to postpone funeral rites for the departed at the sacred Godavari ghats.
Priests are reporting a sharp drop in the number of devotees approaching them to conduct rituals. Satish Shukla, president of the Ganga-Godavari Purohit Sangh, said, “People visit the Ram Kund from distant areas to perform `shraddha’, `pind daan’, and `tarpan’ of their parents. The effect of the cash crunch is visible these days as the number of devotees has gone down.”
Apart from this, a majority of priests performing the rituals accept their `dakshina’ only in cash. However, ever since the demonetisation announcement, they are insis ting on Rs 100 notes. Devotees coming from faraway places are unaware about the location of ATMs and banks.
Atul Jagtap, a devotee from Akola, said, “My family and I wanted to immerse the ashes of my late father at Ram Kund. We had to struggle to get Rs 100 notes as the priests refused to accept Rs 500. ATM centres are dry and we were finding it difficult to exchange notes as there are long queues at banks.”
Demonetisation has only started impacting religious rituals on the sacred ghats of the river Godavari over the past three days. “The number of devotees offering `pujas’ and taking a holy dip as part of post-death rituals for their departed ones has come down considerably ,” a priest working on the ghats said, reported The Times of India.
“Many people, who had earlier contacted me for the ritual, have called to postpone their plans. Over the last three days, there is a 40% drop in the number of visitors,” Sadanand Shastri Joshi, a priest at the Godavari Ghat, said. In general, the number of visitors is the highest postDiwali as winter offers a better atmosphere in Nashik.