A famous temple in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district, about 500 kilometres from here, has banned entry into the temple in ripped jeans, bermuda or mini skirts saying that such dresses 'distract' the attention of the devotees.
The management of the Balaji Temple, which is thronged by a large number of devotees, has put up a notice outside the temple asking the devotees to dress 'decently' if they want to enter the premises.
''All men and women must wear decent dresses... those clad in short clothes, bermuda, shorts, mini skirts and ripped jeans are not to be allowed inside... such devotees can have darshan from outside the temple,'' the notice said.
The priest of the temple Alok Sharma said that women devotees had been asked to wear sarees or salwar-kurta. ''The women must cover their heads inside the temple,'' Sharma added.
Sharma said that ripped jeans, shorts and mini skirts were not in accordance with Indian culture.
Another member of the Temple Management committee Ashok Kumar Sharma said that it had been observed that such dresses often distracted the other devotees. ''Distraction is not good when one is praying before the god,'' he added.
The decision, however, evoked a mixed reaction with some youngsters sharply condemning it and saying that the Temple management did not have the authority to decide what kind of dress one should wear.