This Summer, Instead of Pilgrims, Send Cleaners to Amarnath Yatra
Published on: 4 June 2021, 04:32 am
The Amarnath yatra base camp and route is still reeling from past environmental damage. Last year, the yatra had fewer pilgrims due to the pandemic. This year, Jammu and Kashmir is reeling under an even worse second wave. The government should use this period to clear the yatra route of plastic waste and set new protocols for cleanliness and waste management that suit the environment and the spiritual nature of this journey, writes RAJA MUZAFFAR BHAT from Srinagar.
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THE 2021 annual Amarnath pilgrimage, also known as the Amarnath yatra in Kashmir, is in the offing soon. On 22 April, the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), headed by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, suspended online registrations for the yatra as COVID-19 cases were swelling across the country.
It is still unclear if the annual pilgrimage will happen this year, but a limited number of pilgrims may get permission to travel in the first week of July. Every year, the Amaratra starts at the end of June and lasts 45 days. The yatra was staggered last year due to the pandemic, and very few pilgrims were allowed to visit the shrine every day.
In 2018, more than 7,000 pilgrims visited the Amarnathji shrine daily and around 2.85 lakh in total. The yatra was extended and lasted for around two months. The numbers fell in 2019 as the government asked pilgrims and tourists to leave Kashmir on 1 August just before it abrogated Article 370.
The Jammu and Kashmir government had issued a security advisory citing a "terror threat" in the Valley and asked pilgrims and other tourists to leave the Valley as soon as possible. Nobody knew New Delhi had another plan to execute on 5 August 2019.
The Amarnathji Shrine
The Shri Amarathji shrine has an iced Shiva lingam located in a cave at an altitude of around 3,882 meters. This holy cave is part of the Amarnath peak, which touches an altitude of 5,188 meters. It is a part of the Himalayan range, located south of the Zojila pass that connects the Kashmir Valley with Ladakh. There are two routes to reach this shrine. One is via Pahalgam in South Kashmir and the other through Baltal Sonamarg in district Ganderbal on the Srinagar-Ladakh highway.
