Assam group opposes Meghalaya ban on cave worship, threatens road blockade

Subject: History

Sec: Art and Culture

Context:

Meghalaya’s Tourism Minister justifies a ban by the local village council as a move against promoting a tourist spot as a religious site.

More on News:

About 60 km southwest of Meghalaya’s capital Shillong, Mawjymbuin near Mawsynram is a 209-metre-high natural cave made up of calcareous sandstones. A major attraction in the cave is a Shivaling-like stone below water-dripping stalactites almost resembling a cow’s udder.
The dorbar shnong(village council) of Mawsynram declined to let anyone worship or perform rituals at Mawjymbuin.
The village council’s ban irked another group, the Assam-based Kutumba Surakshya Parishad, which warned that the ban on worshipping at the cave would invite trouble for people of Meghalaya coming to Assam.
The Meghalaya government should make proper arrangements for Hindus to worship the Shivaling during the sacred month of Shravan apart from making the local village body withdraw the ban.

Mawjymbuin cave:

Located in Mawsynram, is a cave named Mawjymbuin, known for its stalagmites.
Inside this cave is a pair of notable speleothems – stalactites shaped like a cow’s udder over a large stalagmite.
The area is known for its many caves, both commercialized and non-commercialized.