news details |
|
|
| Separatists in Kashmir "force" Govt to withdraw permission for Kounsar Nag yatra | | Govt claims they are not working under pressure | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Aug 1 :Probably succumbing to the pressure of separatists in Kashmir, the state government has withdrawn permission for the conduct of holy Kounsar Nag yatra, thereby hurting the religious sentiments of the people having faith in the holy pilgrimage.
The state government today made it clear that Kounsar Nag pilgrimage is not a traditional yatra like Shri Amarnath Yatra, adding that it is being managed by its local management.
Talking to media persons, Sajad Ahmad Kichloo, minister of State for Home said: "I don't know why people are making it controversial when the Kounsar Nag is not a place of traditional yatra like Amarnath Yatra."
He informed that a few hundred people from Reasi visit Kounsar Nag annually to offer prayers and no pilgrim goes there from the valley via Kulgam. "Some 150 to 200 people have been visiting this place for the last four to five years and the government has nothing to do with the management of the yatra but these special prayers are being organised by the local management of this place," Kichloo added.
Asked why the separatists have given a call for shutdown against this yatra, he said, "He fails to understand why such a non-issue has been turned into a controversy."
Ridiculing the news reports that any permission for any 'Yatra' was given by the state government, government stated that no permission for any yatra at Kounsar Nag was issued.
Home Secretary Suresh Kumar stated that it is a mere rumor that any yatra would take place at Kounsar Nag and the state government has issued permission for the same. "Actually, it is not a traditional yatra but only a Puja that used to take place there years ago."
Kumar remarked that for the last few years, some people have been offering prayers at the place and that no yatra as such has ever been scheduled or taken place in the area.
Asked about the reports that a full-fledged yatra would be arranged and the Kounsar Nag would be developed on the pattern of Shri Armarnath pilgrimage, he said the state government has no such proposal and that only usual prayers are being held by some people every year near the stream. "Separatists issuing strike call against the yatra is not true. They may have their own agenda but as far as the government is concerned, no proposal for yatra is there," he added.
Meanwhile, tourism minister Ghulam Ahmad Mir said that Kounsar Nag is a tourist destination and not the pilgrimage destination.
He stated that the state government has no role vis-à-vis the Kounsar Nag issue. "The fact of the matter is that some locals for worshipping near the Kounsar Nag asked for security from the state administration. The issue is now being given an unnecessary hype and in reality the tourism department has no intention in changing Konsar Nag into a pilgrimage site," Mir said.
He said Kounsar Nag will always be a tourist destination and that no effort has been going on to convert it into any pilgrimage destination. "Some locals also worshipped near the stream last year.
This is a usual prayer that the people offer near the Kounsar Nag and calling it a Yatra is a misnomer."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
