New entry rules for the Gangotri temple in Uttarakhand make it compulsory for every visitor to consume panchgavya, a ritual concoction made from five cow-derived products – milk, curd, ghee, honey and cow urine. The idea, according to the committee overseeing the shrine, is to keep out non-believers.

The new rules were announced as a major annual pilgrimage for Hindus called Char Dham Yatra began on Sunday. The pilgrimage draws millions of devotees to four temples, including the Gangotri shrine, high in the Himalayas.

BJP workers often perform purification rituals using cow urine. And during the Covid pandemic the former head of the party’s West Bengal unit called on people to use cow urine to boost their immunity against the virus – prompting warnings from medical experts that there was no scientific basis for doing so.