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.
All 10 members of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board sent in their resignations to Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra on Wednesday.
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.
'The Pahalgam terror attacks and the conflict that followed were a big blow to local tourism.' 'And just when things were starting to go back to normal, the floods, caused by heavy rain, spoiled all chances of a bounce-back this season.'
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.
Securing an impressive victory in Budgam and leading in Ganderbal -- the two seats that he contested -- the third-generation politician is set to become the next Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and carry on his family's legacy.
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.
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 decision to keep the pilgrimage symbolic was taken after discussions with members of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, officials said.
'The PDP has all the time stressed that the semblance of peace and normalcy it has brought in the valley must not be taken for granted. There is no substitute for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute. The problem is still there,' says the PDP vice president
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 annual Amarnath Yatra began on Thursday as a batch of about 2,750 pilgrims left the base camp in Nunwan, Jammu-Kashmir, for the cave shrine housing the naturally formed ice-lingam in the south Kashmir Himalayas.
The Supreme Court on Thursday held that it is government's constitutional obligation to provide basic facilities to pilgrims who visit religious places and directed the Centre and Jammu and Kashmir government to ensure proper health and other amenities to Amarnath yatris.
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.
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 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 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 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"
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.
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 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.
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 Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday claimed it had little role to play in the ongoing violent agitation in Jammu against the cancellation of land allotment to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board.Claiming that the role of political activists in this 'mass movement' was minimal, the BJP asked the government to directly speak to the people leading the movement 'with an open mind' instead of trying to resolve the issue through an all-party meeting, convened by the Prime Minister.
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 'pratham pujan' which marks the beginning of the annual pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath was held on Wednesday at Panjtarni, on the Pahalgam-cave shrine trek.
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 annual pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath will begin on June 29, Sri Amarnath Shrine Board which manages the yatra announced on Thursday.
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.
As Jammu and Kashmir continued to be on the boil, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani alleged on Thursday that the United Progressive Alliance government was lacking seriousness to resolve the problem and accused it of 'discriminating' against Jammu and "alienating the nationalist opinion".
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.
The Bharat bandh called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Aam Hartal called by the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday failed miserably in New Delhi, claimed senior officers of the Delhi Police.However, Jagdish Mukhi, senior leader of BJP's Delhi unit, rejected the claim that the BJP's call for nationwide strike has evoked no response. "The markets in trans-Yamuna area are closed. Similarly, the markets in Chandni Chowk, Karol Bagh and South Extension are all ," he said.
Seventy Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party activists were arrested as they clashed with police during a bandh called by them in protest against Jammu and Kashmir government's decision not to hand over forest land to the Amarnath Shrine Board. Nine persons were injured in baton charge and stone-pelting during the clash, sources said.
A near total general strike, public protests and widespread processions marred life across Kashmir on Friday. Thousands of people marched from various localities of summer capital Srinagar, converging on Lal Chowk, the city centre where they shouted slogans against the government and the Sri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB).
Violent protests continued throughout the capital Srinagar and other towns on Thursday against the allotment of forest land to the Sri Amarnath Shrine Board as the Kashmir valley remained shut for the third consecutive day.
Widespread violence and protests rocked Srinagar on Tuesday, as members of various outfits protested the allotment of forest land to Sri Amarnath Shrine Board by the state government.One person, who was critically injured during the protests on Monday, succumbed to his injuries in the Soura Medical Institute late in the night.Feroze's death further fuelled the angry protests in Srinagar. Stone pelting mobs stopped traffic and forced closure of businesses, schools and colleges
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.
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.
Inclement weather could delay the annual Amar Nath Yatra, hinted Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
rediff.com asked prominent experts their opinion on the crisis and their suggestions to the central government on how to tackle the issue.
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.
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