Differences sharpen between Amarnath board, religious groups
May 12th, 2012 - 9:44 pm ICT by IANS
Jammu, May 12 (IANS) Differences have sharpened between Hindu religious groups and Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) over the duration and commencement of this year’s annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir.
SASB, which manages the shrine and is headed by Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra, has decided to start the pilgrimage on June 25 to end Aug 2 (39 days), while Hindu religious groups Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal want the pilgrimage period to be of two months.
The VHP has warned of “serious consequences” if the annual Hindu pilgrimage is reduced to less than two months.
VHP’s international general secretary Praven Togadia said the pilgrimage would start two months ahead of Aug 2, the official date announced by the board when the pilgrimage concludes.
“If any attempt is made to stop the yatra, it would have country-wide reaction,” Togadia said.
A spokesperson of the SASB, however, said: “The schedule of the yatra has been worked out by a committee by taking into consideration, weather, terrain and all other aspects.”
According to the board, a growing number of pilgrims have been losing their lives during the annual pilgrimage, particularly due to cardiac-related ailments.
“We have made it mandatory for the pilgrims to submit fitness certificates before proceeding to the shrine,” the spokesperson added.
Bajrang Dal has also criticised the SASB decision to limit the yatra to 39 days and accused it of “misleading” the devotees.
“We will send a team of 100 activists to Baltal and Pahalgam base camp to assess the state of the route to the shrine on May 13,” Bajrang Dal’s regional co-convener Nand Kishore Mishra said.
Terming the SASB move as “anti-religious”, Mishra said the decision would hurt the sentiments of devotees.
Claiming that the board has no right to decide the date and period of the yatra as it is a matter to be decided by religious leaders, Mishra said the Bajrang Dal will launch a protest if its team is stopped from pilgrimage to the cave shrine.
The shrine, devoted to Hindu God Shiva, is located at 13,500 feet above sea level. The route leading to it is highly treacherous and receives heavy snowfall.
The official registration of the pilgrimage began on May 7.
More than 630,000 pilgrims visited the shrine last year, breaking all previous records, essentially because of the facilities extended by the SASB.
- Bajrang Dal group stopped from going to Amarnath base camps - May 13, 2012
- Groups threaten to start Amarnath Yatra June 3 - May 19, 2012
- Amarnath yatra too short, say religious groups - Feb 29, 2012
- Amarnath yatra dates decided on religious calendar, says shrine board (Lead) - Feb 29, 2012
- Government, Hindu groups clash over Amarnath yatra - Jun 09, 2011
- VHP warns Amarnath shrine board - Mar 05, 2012
- BJP raps government on Amarnath Yatra decision - May 16, 2012
- Hindu groups to view route to Amarnath pilgrimage - Jun 12, 2011
- Thick snow cover posing new risk to Amarnath pilgrims - Jun 22, 2012
- Five detained for locking Kashmir House in Delhi - May 18, 2012
- Annual Hindu pilgrimage of Amarnath to start June 25 - Feb 26, 2012
- Governor reviews Amarnath pilgrimage facilities - Jul 17, 2012
- Pilgrims cannot start Amarnath Yatra before June 25 - Jun 23, 2012
- Around 500,000 perform Amarnath Yatra - Jul 16, 2012
- Annual Amarnath yatra begins (Lead) - Jun 24, 2012
Tags: amarnath cave, amarnath shrine, aug 2, bajrang dal, convener, devotees, hindu pilgrimage, jammu and kashmir, kishore, mishra, nand, religious groups, sasb, shrine board, south kashmir, taking into consideration, vhp, vishwa hindu parishad, vohra, yatra