Amarnath Yatra reduced from 2 months to 39 days due to communal reasons—VHP agitates – The Pioneer –10.4.12

In an apparent bid to thwart the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) plans to start the annual Amarnath yatra ahead of the official schedule, the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Monday decided to strictly disallow unregistered pilgrims to visit the cave shrine located in south Kashmir’s Himalayan Mountains. “No unregistered yatri will be allowed to move onwards from both the yatra routes this year”, a police statement issued after the Amarnath yatra review meeting said here. The meeting held at the Police Control Room was chaired by the inspector general of police (Kashmir range) Shiv Murari Sahai.

Deputy inspectors general, south and central Kashmir-Shafqat Watali and Abdul Ghani Mir attended the meeting. The VHP last week announced to that it would not accept Shri Amarnath Shrine Board’s (SASB) decision to start the annual yatra from June 25. The right-wing group announced to start parallel registration for the yatra and decided to send the first batch of pilgrims to the cave shrine on June 4. The SASB, headed by J&K Governor NN Vohra, is the autonomous body that manages and regulates the   annual pilgrimage, which attracts tens of thousands of pilgrims every year. The SASB has announced to  conclude the yatra within 39 days, six days less than the last year’s schedule. The SASB says that the duration of yatra is determined by religious factors. During the previous Governor Lt Gen (retd) SK Sinha’s tenure as the exofficio chairman of the SASB, the duration of yatra was increased to two months. The elongation of yatra period enhanced the number of pilgrims manifold but the decision was not liked by environmentalists and separatist groups in Kashmir. After the 2008 agitation that was triggered by a Government decision transferring a huge chunk of forest land to the SASB, the authorities are cautious in managing the annual affair. The 2008 agitation divided the provinces of Jammu and Kashmir on communal lines. The VHP is opposed to “shortening” of the yatra duration. “The VHP will start the yatra to the cave shrine from June 4 -- the day of Jyeshtha Purnima. We do not accept the date of commencement of yatra announced by the SASB”, VHP State chief Rama Kant Dubey announced in Jammu last week.

He said the religious gurus and not the J&K Governor have the right to decide on the duration of yatra.  In fact, the VHP started parallel registration of yatris from April 6, coinciding with Hanuman Jayanti. The special police meeting decided that the official registration of the pilgrims would be mandatory and no pilgrim would be allowed to embark on the journey from any of the two routesPahalgam in south and Baltal in Northeastern Kashmir. The police did not, however, refer to the VHP’s plans on parallel yatra schedule.