Amarnath Yatra cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic

After weeks of speculations, the annual Amarnath Yatra has been finally cancelled due to rise in Covid-19 cases all over the country, including Jammu and Kashmir.

An official spokesperson said the decision to cancel the pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high holy cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas was taken during a meeting of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), on Tuesday.

“The health concerns are so serious that the strain on the health system, along with the diversion in resources to the Yatra, will be immense. This would also unnecessarily put the Yatris at risk of catching the Covid-19,” he said.

The SASB also deliberated the considered views of the government which made reasoned observations supported by facts suggesting that it would not be advisable to conduct the Yatra this year in larger public interest. “This would enable the health, civil and police administrations to focus on the immediate challenges facing them rather than diverting resources, manpower and attention to the conduct of the Yatra,” the meeting decided.

“The Board is aware of and respects the sentiments of millions of devotees and to keep the religious sentiments alive, it shall continue the Live Telecast/ Virtual Darshan of the morning and evening Aarti. Further, the traditional rituals shall be carried out as per past practice. Also, the Chhadi Mubarak shall be facilitated by the government,” the SASB statement added.

The decision has finally put an end to the speculation surrounding the annual pilgrimage. The 42-day long annual pilgrimage was scheduled to begin from June 23 from traditional Pahalgam -Chandanwari track and shorter Sonamarag-Baltal route.

However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, earlier the decision was taken to cut-short the time period of the pilgrimage to 15-days during a meeting held by Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor GC Murmu.

Every year lakhs of pilgrims either take the traditional and longer 45 km-long Pahalgam route or the shorter 14 km-long Baltal route to Amarnath, one of Hinduism’s holiest shrines. The pilgrimage usually spans nearly a month-and-a-half and takes place during July and August.

Last year, the yatra was cut short following intelligence inputs of terror threats ahead of the Centre scrapping Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. In 2018, the pilgrimage was held for 60 days.

Meanwhile, the Chhari-Mubarak of Amarnath Ji led by Mahant Deependra Giri Ji, its sole custodian was taken to historic Shankaracharya Temple, in Srinagar for prayers on the occasion of ‘Haryali-Amavasya’ (Shravan Amavasya) to maintain the age-old tradition.

The holy mace of Lord Shiva was taken from its abode Dashnami Akhara, Srinagar to historic Shankaracharya temple. It was led by Mahant Ji with only a selected number of Sadhus participating in Pujan in view of guidelines and SOPs issued by the government due to Covid-19 pandemic. The Pujan lasted for more than an hour.

A statement from Mahant Ji said ‘Chhari-Sthapana’ ceremony shall be performed on July 23 at Shri Amareshwar Temple in Srinagar and traditional ‘Chhari-Pujan’ shall be performed on the occasion of ‘Nag-Panchami’ that falls on Saturday (July 25).