Gaya: Ahead of the Pitripaksh Mela, scheduled to begin on Sept 25, members of the Gayapal Panda samaj and the 14 Saiya Gayapal Samitee have opposed online pind daan services and tourism packages being offered in the name of pind daan, calling for devotees to perform the rituals in Gaya.At a news conference on Wednesday, members of the panda community raised concerns over what they described as the growing commercialisation of the traditional religious ritual.Mahesh Lal Gupt, patron of the 14 Saiya Gayapal Samitee, alleged that private websites, hotels and other organisations were offering pind daan packages ranging from Rs25,000 to Rs51,000. “There is no traditional or scriptural practice of performing online pind daan,” Gupt said, appealing to devotees to visit Gaya, perform the rituals according to prescribed practices and seek the blessings of their respective pilgrimage priests.Another member, Nand Kishore Gupta, said, “Performing pind daan by sending money from home through another person or intermediary cannot be a substitute for the devotee’s physical presence in Gaya.”“Such arrangements could also expose pilgrims to financial exploitation in the name of religious services. Pind daan is not merely a financial transaction and involves both religious faith and prescribed rituals,” he said.The Gayapal panda samaj has traditionally maintained records of pilgrims visiting Gaya. Gupt claimed that priests maintained records of several families dating back seven to 10 generations.Gajadhar Lal Kataria said religious traditions should not be turned into commercial activities. He said pind daan was a ritual rooted in faith and family obligations and that the Gayapal community would oppose any alleged exploitation of devotees in its name.The panda community also appealed to devotees to verify the credentials and details of online pinddaan services and private packages before making any payment.
