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| No move to build road from Baltal to cave: SASB | | | Early Times Reporter
Srinagar | May 11
Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board today described as totally baseless a report appearing in a section of the Press that it was planning to build a road from Baltal to the Himalayan Cave Shrine of Shri Amarnathji.
'It is neither practicable nor has it ever been planned', Director Public Relations of the Board said and termed it as a figment of imagination to mislead the people. He wished that a clarification from the Board had been sought before publishing such false report.
Reacting to yet another canard reported in the Press that the Board is trying to put up a township at the Holy Cave called Amarnathnagar and the Board is also trying to change the demography of the Valley by bringing millions of pilgrims, the DPR said that the absurdity of the report about putting up a township at the Holy Cave is so obvious that it hardly calls for contradiction. As for changing the demography of the Valley, neither normal tourism nor pilgrim tourism can do so. They can only give a boost to the economy of the Valley, he added.
The DPR, however, said that the Board is contemplating to black top the existing road from Baltal to Domail where from the pilgrims undertake the trek to the Cave Shrine. This road exists since a long time and blacktopping it would be more environmental friendly as there will be no scope for dust due to movement of vehicular traffic, he said.
Referring to the observation that trekking the mountains for pilgrimage had more sanctity, the DPR said that with the change of times the mode of journey has also changed. He recalled that centuries ago the pilgrims from South India used to foot the distance upto the Cave Shrine but with changing times this practice stopped and the devotees have now been using all modes of surface and air transport. This is also true about other pilgrimages around the world; he said and cited the example of Haj pilgrimage where in the old days the pilgrims from India would embark on hazardous journey in ships. 'Now direct flights take off from Srinagar itself', he said adding that "we have to move with the times". He maintained that whosoever wishes to trek the mountains is welcome to do so. "In fact over 90 per cent pilgrims trek from both the routes of Baltal and Pahalgam up to the Cave Shrine", he added.
The DPR reiterated the resolve of the Board to preserve the fragile ecology of yatra areas and said several environmental friendly measures like pre-fab modern toilets and shelter huts have been raised all along the route and the base camps. Similarly, use of polythene has been banned. Raking up of environmental concerns seems to be the handiwork of the people with vested interest to mislead public opinion and to vitiate the atmosphere before the start of the yatra', he regretted.
As regards the 'restricted' influx of pilgrims to Gomukh, the DPR said that the pilgrimage of Gomukh cannot be compared with Shri Amarnathji yatra. Gomukh is a glacier and restrictions there seem to have been taken due to global warming to prevent Bagirathi River from drying up. On the contrary, there is no glacier at Shri Amarnathji and there is no threat of this pilgrimage contributing to global warming. At best, the DPR said that Shri Amarnathji can be compared with the pilgrimages of Badrinath and Kedarnath, at approximately the same height which remain open for six months as against two months in Shri Amarnathji.
He said that increase in the number of people paying obeisance at religious places is related to increase in population. Thus their number to Kumbh at Allahabad, Ajmer Sharief and in our case Mata Vaishno Devi and Shri Amarnathji or Chrar-eSharief and Hazratbal, has been increasing. The issue of environmental degradation is raised only in the case of Amarnath for ulterior reasons. With improved facilities being provided by the Shrine Board for pilgrimage to Shri Amarnath, there has been a change in the type of pilgrims now going there. Middle and upper class people have started visiting the Cave in very large numbers. They have better paying capacity and when they come for pilgrimage, they spend a few days holidaying in the Valley. Thus this pilgrimage now not only provides a boost to the economy of the local region but to the Valley as a whole. It is strange that those who welcome and try to promote increase in tourist arrivals in the Valley without any concern for pollution of Dal Lake or other tourist spots, are the ones who are strident in raising controversies over the pilgrimage to Shri Amarnath. |
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