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.
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.
A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said that due silence has to be maintained only in front of the ice stalagmite resembling the 'ShivaLinga'.
Hard-line Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani has asked Kashmiris to desist from allowing people from outside Jammu and Kashmir to stay with them as tenants.
Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Friday said that the annual yatra to the Holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir should be restricted to just a month instead of 60 days.
The first batch comprising 1,160 Amarnath yatris was on Friday flagged off by the state tourism minister from Jammu base camp to the holy cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.
'Based upon the circumstances, the Board decided with heavy heart that it is not advisable to hold and conduct this year's Shri Amarnathji Yatra and expressed its regret to announce the cancellation of Yatra 2020,' the SASB said in a statement.
Eleven persons, including 10 devotees, have died due to medical reasons during the ongoing pilgrimage to Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.
The annual Amarnath yatra to the 3,880-metre high cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas will commence on June 28 and culminate, as per the tradition, on the day of Raskha Bandhan festival on August 22, officials said.
The advisory comes in the wake of the recent inclement weather along the Nepalganj-Simikot-Hilsa route of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through Nepal, and the consequent stranding of pilgrims for over a week.
The first batch of over 12,000 yatris (pilgrims) left for the cave shrine located at 14,500 feet above the sea level from the two base camps.
More than 8,000 pilgrims on Monday paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine.
Drones are being used for aerial security of the Amarnath base camp at Bhagwati Nagar area of Jammu city for the first time while at least 20,000 security personnel have been deployed along the two routes.
'More than anything else, it is pragmatism that is working out in Jammu and Kashmir. It is not a question of convenience, but getting together and understanding that no other better option can work.' 'The very fact that it has taken two months of hard negotiations obviously means that they have taken a very mature approach. This shows the seriousness of intent and statesman-like qualities that they both have displayed.'
'Elected representatives have won elections in the past on the basis of money power received from the central government.' 'This fact has been highlighted by former army chief V K Singh who boasted of crores of rupees being distributed to Kashmiri politicians in order to buy their loyalty and win votes.' 'All the Kashmiri politicians have been co-opted by the Indian State,' says separatist Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
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