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| Bajrang Dal protests against Geelani in Jammu | | | early times report
Jammu, Nov 1 : The radical right wing Bajrang Dal staged a protest here on Thursday against separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani over his opposition to the construction of a metalled road for the convenience of Amarnath Shrine pilgrims.
Geelani had said in October that protests would be organised in case authorities went ahead with the construction of the road. He cited a negative impact on the environment as the reason for his opposition to the project.
Bajrang Dal protesters rubbished Geelani's claims.
"Geelani Sahab has said that the road posed a threat to the environment, because of trees being felled. I want him to give a count of the number of trees on that road. There are only a 100 or so. He has nothing to say about the deforestation rampant all over the country," said Rakesh Sharma, an irate demonstrator.
Sharma added that that there would be no concessions made in the facilities that are required during the pilgrimage.
"Unlike the past, we will make no concessions this time for the requirements of the pilgrimage. We want it to last 60 days, and we will have our way," he said.
Sharma's statement was a rebuttal of Geelani saying that the pilgrimage be conducted over a fortnight instead of 60 days, and that administrative control of the Amarnath 'yatra' be given to local Hindus.
He called for the shrine board currently managing the pilgrimage to be disbanded, as the Jammu and Kashmir state government had no control over the body.
According to official records, over 550,000 Hindu pilgrims visited the cave shrine earlier this year to worship an ice stalagmite, believed to be the symbol of Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction and regeneration.
There were 93 casualties during the pilgrimage this year. The Supreme Court of India had taken suo-motu cognisance of the high number of deaths of the pilgrims during the pilgrimage and directed the state government to improve the condition of the tracks and provide necessary healthcare and other facilities for bringing down casualties. |
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