Gaya, Sept. 7: Members of the Gayapal panda samaj, who accord sufal to devotees in Gaya to perform pinddaan rituals, today hit the streets to protest against the alleged arbitrary behaviour of the district administration, four days before the start of the 17-day Pitripaksh Mela.

The Gayapal pandas are enraged over a hike in fees for issuing identity cards and introducing fresh fees for registration of houses to be given out for accommodation to pilgrims. The pandas have threatened to intensify their agitation if their demands to withdraw the enhanced fees were not considered.

During the period, more than 3 lakh pilgrims from across the country and abroad, too, are expected to visit Gaya and perform pinddaan rituals.

Meanwhile, as many as 250 members of the Gayapal panda samaj sat on dharna between 10am and 2pm today in front of the office of lodging house committee near Vishnupad Temple.

A senior member of Gayapal panda samaj Mahesh Gupt told The Telegraph that the fees this year have either been doubled or newly introduced to generate revenue.

Vishnupad Temple Management Committee president Shankar Lal Pathak told The Telegraph that recently, district magistrate Bandana Preyashi, who is also chairperson of lodging house committee, has issued an order that Gayapal pandas will have to pay Rs 250 as registration fee for their respective houses in which they provide accommodation to pilgrims arriving in Gaya during the Pitripaksh Mela. Earlier, no such fee was charged from the pandas.

Secondly, the administration has also been doubled the fees for issuing identity cards. Earlier, Rs 25 was charged for issuing an identity card to a Gayapal panda for the Pitripaksh period, which has been increased to Rs 50 this year. The administration issues identity cards to Gayapal pandas, their relatives and employees during Pitripaksh to ensure that the pilgrims are not duped by fake pandas.

The pandas also protested the increase in fees for pilgrims staying in schools and government buildings, other than the houses of Gayapal pandas. The administration charges Rs 30 per pilgrim from Gayapal pandas, which has been doubled to Rs 60.