All 10 members of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board sent in their resignations to Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra on Wednesday.
The recently reconstituted Shri Amarnath Shrine Board on Monday took a major decision appointing a high profile panel for the preservation of the environment enroute and around the Holy cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.
Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra told Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad that the Amarnath Shrine Board would not pursue the transfer of land.
Pilgrims begin their trek towards the Amarnath cave from the Baltal base camp in Ganderbal on Thursday, July 3, 2025.
The holy lingam (phallic symbol of Shiva) at the shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas melted 10 days back, Chief Executive Officer (Ecology), Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, Arun Kumar told PTI.
The Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine Board, which is facing opposition to its decision to charge payment for priority in paying obeisance, on Wednesday, said the term 'paid darshan' is a misnomer and it is examining representations from organisations on the issue.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Thursday refused to accept the date fixed by Shri Amarnath Shrine Board for the annual pilgrimage to the cave temple in south Kashmir Himalayas, saying the yatra this year will commence on June 4 for which it will begin registering pilgrims from Friday.
Mahant Deependra Giri, the custodian of the holy mace, accompanied by over 100 'sadhus' reached the shrine with the Charri Mubarak this morning, Shri Amarnath Shrine Board officials said.
The LG said around 2.36 lakh pilgrims had registered for the yatra before the attack took place at Baisaran in Pahalgam area that left 26 persons -- mostly tourists -- dead.
At least 600 pilgrims traveling to the Amarnath shrine, led by Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers, on Sunday courted arrest after they were prevented from proceeding towards the hill shrine by the state administration. The date of the yatra was fixed on June 25 by the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board. But the pilgrims tried to start the yatra from Sunday, defying the prohibitory orders clamped to deter them.
The annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath shrine will begin on Monday albeit only from the Baltel route as the traditional south route via Pahalgam is still snow-bound.
Spritual Guru and member of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has said that he was deeply pained over the toll of casualties during the Sri Amaranth pilgrimage year after year.
The 'charri mubarak', carried by around 500 saints led by its custodian, Mahant Deepinder Giri, reached the shrine, 143 km from Srinagar, around 0845 IST.
More than 40 food items have been banned at the upcoming Amarnath Yatra and the pilgrims have been advised to achieve physical fitness by walking at least 5 kilometres a day, the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board said in its health advisory issued on Thursday.
The two-month long annual Hindu pilgrimage to the Himalayan Cave Shrine of Amarnath, which was officially scheduled to begin on Saturday was postponed following incessant rains all along the north and south of Kashmir.
Shri Amarnath Shrine Board Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Naveen Choudhary on Saturday said, "from 7th May on wards, the interested Yatris can reserve their heli-seats for Amarnath yatra through the web based on-line Reservation System by logging on to the Shrine Board's website".
The decision to keep the pilgrimage symbolic was taken after discussions with members of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, officials said.
Yet another controversy dogged this year's edition of Amarnath pilgrimage with the state government and the shrine board locking horns over the issue of helicopter services for the affluent pilgrims.
Authorities on Friday suspended Amarnath yatra from Jammu in view of the continued strike in Kashmir Valley over transfer of forest land to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board. The devotees were not allowed to proceed from Bhagwati Nagar base camp to the Amarnath cave shrine of Lord Shiva in the Kashmir Himalayas.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) shall provide these facilities during Amarnath yatra this year, he said adding that a detailed plan was being prepared by the BSNL.
The 37-day annual pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath will commence from June 25, the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board which manages the yatra said.
The heavy rush of unregistered pilgrims pouring in thousands into the Valley daily is posing a serious challenge to the authorities who are facing overcrowding at the base camps, traffic jams and throwing haywire the logistics put in place for the annual Amarnath yatra.
The annual Amarnath yatra has been re-scheduled and will now commence from June 15. The postponement has been forced by the presence of heavy snow on the yatra route to the Himalayan Cave Shrine located at a height of 13000 feet from both southern Chandanwari and northern Baltal routes.
According to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, the ice lingam inside the cave has fully formed this year. There had been apprehensions that the ice lingam may not take form completely owing to global warming and shifting of glaciers.
The board said the yatra would continue between June 21 and July 5 from the Baltal route and not the Pahalgam one due to heavy snowfall in that region.
The annual pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath will begin on June 28 this year and it will be spread over 55 days. The yatra schedule was announced after a meeting of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board chaired by SASB Chairman and Governor N N Vohra.
The Yatra has been suspended as there has been snowfall at several places.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has set aside 40 hectares of forest land for use by the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board during the two month long annual pilgrimage to the cave shrine as per the agreement reached between the government panel and the Amarnath Yatra Sangarash Samiti which spearheaded two month long agitation in Jammu.
A day after the Jammu and Kashmir government took over yatra arrangements after the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board withdrew its request for the forest land, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday appealed to people to resume normal activities and let peace prevail while asking politicians and other groups not to rake up an already settled issue of land transfer. The Chief Minister urged politicians and leaders of various groups not to put the people to inconvenience & trouble.
The crisis over the start date of the Amarnath Yatra deepened with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad showing no signs of relenting and a top VHP leader on Tuesday stating that Bharatiya Janata Party leader Uma Bharti will lead a contingent of devotees to the cave shrine on June 3. The board has left sadhus all across India angry by disobeying him, he added.
Two pilgrims died of cardiac arrest en route to the 3,880 m high holy cave shrine of Amarnath even as one lakh pilgrims paid obeisance at the shrine, officials said in Srinagar on Friday.
Use of plastic bags has been banned in Pahalgam, Baltal and en route to the Amarnath cave shrine as part of a master plan to check environmental damage and introduce eco-friendly facililies for pilgrims
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Tuesday asked Art of Living founder and Shri Amarnath Shrine Board member, Sri Sri Ravishankar, to keep away from the "boiling issue" of curtailment of Amarnath yatra, saying otherwise he will "burn his hands"
Over five thousand pilgrims who left for the holy cave of Amarnath on Tuesday morning from north Kashmir's Baltel route had to abort the arduous uphill trek as the weather turned worse.
An indefinite curfew was imposed in the entire Jammu city on Thursday morning following fresh tension in the wake of a youth's suicide against the revocation of the forest land allotment to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board. Police and Central Reserve Police Force troopers have been deployed in strength to enforce curfew restrictions in the city.
Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravishankar on Tuesday said there was no pressure on the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board on deciding the duration of the Amarnath yatra, which was shortened keeping in view the safety of the pilgrims.
The traditional Pahalgam route for the annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine in Kashmir will open on July 9, an official of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board said in Srinagar on Monday.
Ahead of the fourth round of planned talks with a governor's panel, the Shri Amarnath Sangarsh Samiti also said any solution should also give the shrine board exclusive control of the land during the yatra. There was no official word of any peace formula to end the crisis.
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