Amarnath yatra row deepens
S. P. Sharma
Tribune News Service
 Vishwa Hindu Parishad activists tonsure their heads in protest against J&K Government's decision to restrict the Amarnath pilgrimage for one month, in Jammu on Tuesday. — PTI photo |
Jammu, June 22
The controversy over the curtailment of the Amarnath pilgrimage by the Mufti-led coalition government further deepened today when the Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board (SASB) headed by the Governor, Lieut-Gen S.K. Sinha (retd), accused the government of "unwarrantedly interfering" in its functioning and Mahant Deependera Giri, head of the Srinagar-based Dashnami Akhara, announced that he would start performing the rituals of the pilgrimage as per the tradition on August 2.
To discuss the "irritating constraints" that are being imposed on the pilgrimage, the Governor convened an extraordinary meeting of the SASB here last evening.
On the other hand, the Amarnath Yatra Nyas headed by Dr Ramakant Shastri, launched a dharna here this morning to protest against the curtailment of the "yatra" by the state government. Various organizations have accused the government of interfering in the religious affairs of Hindus.
Mahant Deependera Giri, Justice G.D. Sharma and Dr Bimla Dhar, who are members of the SASB, briefed mediapersons about the deliberations of the meeting of the board. They said it was unfortunate that not only the government, but also the bureaucracy has imposed "irritating constraints" on the yatra.
The mahant announced that the pilgrimage led by the holy mace would set off for Pahalgam from the Dashnami Akhara on August 25 and reach the cave shrine on August 30 when rakhi would be celebrated.
The board members said the SASB observed that the action of the government violated the provisions of the Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board Act of 2000 whereunder the board was given a statutory status.
The SASB expressed concern over the state government not allowing it to install the pre-fabricated insulated shelters for 5,000 pilgrims and delaying clearance to carry 600 environment-friendly prefabricated toilets and 250 baths for convenience of the pilgrims.
These members said that while the government was on the one hand expressing security concerns as the reason for curtailment of the pilgrimage to one month, on the other hand, about 500 persons were being allowed to perform the yatra privately every day without any security. This is for the first time that the SASB has come out openly against the "interference" of the state government in its affairs.
The SASB noted with regret that the various proposals formulated by it which were duly communicated by the chairman (Governor) to the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister in October, 2003, and the detailed project report sent in March this year, were summarily rejected by the state government on May 21, without any discussion.
The board observed that the prefabricated insulated shelters with wooden floor, two-tier bunks and rexene mattresses at the camping sites for 5,000 pilgrims would not only have provided greater comfort to the pilgrims than sleeping on the ground in tattered tents, but also ensured greater survivability in bad weather. After the snowstorm in 1996 in which 243 persons perished and several hundred were injured, the Nitish Sengupta Committee had recommended permanent shelters at the camping site. In the wake of the large-scale massacre of pilgrims in 2000, the Mukherjee Committee had also recommended permanent shelters.
The SASB said its proposal for extending the yatra to two months from July 2 was to respect the religious sentiments. By delaying the yatra as late as August, it was likely that the ice lingam would have completely melted by that time, denying the pilgrims the satisfaction of the holy darshan. The SASB urged the state government to reconsider its decision on the duration of the yatra as the security plea being put up by the government was "totally unconvincing".
The board expressed surprise that the state government had now chosen to impose a ceiling of 3,500 pilgrims per day as recommended by the Nitish Sengupta Committee when all these years it had not implemented the recommendation. As many as 15,000 persons performed the pilgrimage in a single day last year when the average figure of yatris was 8,000 per day. There was no logic behind rejecting the board's modest recommendation of allowing 5,000 pilgrims per day as the path on the Baltal route had been widened from 7 ft. to 11 ft.
The SASB pointed out that the state government was insisting on all pilgrims getting themselves registered through the J&K Bank after paying a levy of Rs 20 per person. The board had suggested free registration on the Internet as at Tirupati and as was being introduced for the Vaishnodevi shrine.
PTI adds: Six youths today tonsured their heads and broke water-filled earthen pots during a demonstration against Mufti-led coalition government for its alleged anti-Amarnath yatra policy.
The heads were tonsured and earthen pots broken at J.P. Chowk in the city where leaders and representatives of various organisations, including Baba Amarnath Yatra Nyas (BAYN), Jammu Paryatan Vikas Mandal, all hotel and lodges associations, Jammu Province, Tourist and Taxi federation, Sanatan Dharam Sabha, Jammu Mukhti Morcha, staged dharna.
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