In a massive development, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Saturday announced ban of photography and videography in the Golden Temple premises. SGPC instructed security personnel to enforce videography and photography ban from June 8 (today). SGPC also urged devotees to respect the sanctity of the site. SGPC in its statement said, "Sri Harmandir Sahib is the centre of faith. People who are not aware think this is a picnic spot. Some even try to pull put mischevious acts. For example a few people shoot videos or reels and add music or song which is totally irrelevant. Keeping all these things in mid, we have banned photography and videography at Sri Harmandir Sahib."
"It was not allowed earlier as well. Earlier, people were advised to seek permission from SGPC to take videos or photos. But, now, everyone has mobile phone in their hand. Therefore, people have started taking undue advantage due to that. People dont even know that they should not click photos of Sikhs who are without their turban. They just click it anyway. Otherwise, people come once or twice in their lifetime. They all want to make their visit to Sri Harmandir Sahib memorable. Therefore, they click pictures and take videos. But, now due to some mischevious act, photography and videography have been barred."
It is pertinent to mention here that a few months back, the Uttarakhand Police had prohibited the use of mobile phones to make videos and shoot reels near Char Dham temples. The state police chief issued orders to the Police Superintendents in the districts where the Char Dham pilgrimage sites are located. The measures came after many visitors to Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath were seen clicking photos and recording videos, posing a huge challenge to managing the crowd. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami directed officials to ensure that nobody shoots videos or makes reels within the temple premises.