Chief minister Puskhar Singh Dhami announced his governments decision to rename Joshimath, that is considered the gateway to the shrine town of Badrinath, as ‘Jyotirmath’.
The announcement, made at BJPs Vijay Sankalp rally in Nandannagar (earlier called Ghat), is being seen as a move to appease priests and locals, who have for a long time been demanding that the towns name be changed.
Significantly, the had recently renamed Ghat block, also in Chamoli district, to Nandannagar.
Joshimath is the winter seat of the Badrinath deity and houses one of the four maths established by Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century, the other three being at Sringeri, Puri and Dwarka.