‘Promote Kangra Fort Temple as tourist destination’

PANCHKULA:Heads of royal families of the erstwhile princely states of Himachal have urged the Central Government to promote Kangra Fort Temple in Kangra housing a sculpture museum on the international map as the world hardly knows about it

Updated At : 02:16 PM Jun 23, 2019 IST

Heads of royal families of the erstwhile princely states of Himachal Pradesh during the ‘Trigarth Raje’ conference in Panchkula on Saturday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: NITIN MITTAL

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, June 22

Heads of royal families of the erstwhile princely states of Himachal have urged the Central Government to promote Kangra Fort Temple in Kangra housing a sculpture museum on the international map as the world hardly knows about it.

Dr Ashok Kumar Thakur of the erstwhile Sibia state, while talking to The Tribune on the sidelines of the roundtable “Trigarth Raje” conference, said they had been making efforts on their own to make the place popular, but the government support would help in making it as a tourist destination.

He said foreign tourists visit Dharamsala to see Tibetan monastery and shrines, but they were not aware of the centuries old temple.

Commenting about the conference, Dr Thakur said the aim was to enhance social, religious cultural ethos of the royal families who continue to hold traditions like crown-wearing ceremony that were held before the merging of their states with India.

He said though they got social recognition, they want official recognition as was being given to other communities from the government keeping in view their contribution for the country.

He said earlier they used to get title with their names, but the process was discontinued after 1971.

Dr Thakur said they had also formed a WhatsApp group in which there were more than 130 members from across the country. They were sharing social cultural activities and other information about the members.

Tikka Aishwarya Chand Katoch (Kangra state), Tikka Prithvi Raj Singh (Jasran state), Kanwar Rajesh Chand Dadwal (Datarpur state), Kanwar Dr Sanjeev Guleria (Guler state) and Tikka Yashvir Chand (Bhalan state) were among those present in the conference.