AHMEDABAD, INDIA, June 14, 2011 (Times of India): Next time you enter the Somnath temple, ensure that you have removed your belt and are not in “improper or disrespectful” dress. The Shree Somnath Trust has recently imposed a dress code banning short skirts and shorts.
A board at the security counter reads, “Not allowed inside the temple improper disrespectful dress”. This board has been put up recently about 200 metres from the main temple. A guard posted there said, “Earlier, too, there were instructions but the code was not followed strictly. Now we will not allow indecent clothing.” He said with the tourism department having made the nearby beach a tourist spot, visitors in a large number came wearing short pants.
A member of the trust said that other temples too follow strict dress codes and even jeans are banned for women, but at Somnath, the trust had — until now — permitted it. He said they were not so strict when it came to dress code for women. “Children in bermudas are allowed.” However, the tourists are not bothered about the dress code.