JOIN USAmarnath yatra likely to be held as permission for setting up langars granted
While authorities are yet to take a final decision over the annual Amarnath pilgrimage due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has started granting permissions for setting up langars (a communal free kitchen).
The permission has been granted to Langar Organisations at Baltal in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district from June 28 to August 22. Significantly, it is the same duration for which the SASB had earlier proposed to hold annual pilgrimage before the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic forced it to suspend the registration of pilgrims on April 22.
However, the SASB in its permission letter has directed langar organisations to follow all Covid-19 protocols set up by the Jammu and Kashmir government. By granting permission to the Langar organization, the SASB has given an indication that the annual pilgrimage to the 3888-metre-high Amarnathji cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas could be held though with a limited number of yatris.
Last year, the pilgrimage was cancelled on July 21 because of the rise in Covid-19 cases, while in 2019, the pilgrimage was curtailed ahead of the scrapping of J&K’s special status under Article 370 as the erstwhile state was locked down and a communications blackout was imposed.
A senior official said that as the track has been cleared on Baltal route and permission to the Langar organisation accorded, the yatra could be held this year. However, the number of pilgrims visiting the shrine will be reduced with only a shorter Baltal route used for the pilgrimage, he said.
Earlier this month, authorities had asked pilgrimage service providers to get vaccinated against the virus at the earliest.
Recently, J&K Lt governor Manoj Sinha had said that the government will analyse the Covid-19 situation before taking a final decision on the yatra.
This year the SASB was expecting six lakh yatries to pay obeisance at the holy cave shrine, which would have been the largest number since the governing body took over the affairs of the pilgrimage in 2000.