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| Amarnath Yatra 12 days away, confusion prevails over its commencement | | SASB yet to take final call over whether to allow pilgrimage at full scale or not | | Early Times Report
Jammu, June 18: Confusion continues to prevail over the fate of Shri Amarnath Yatra this year with travelers having absolutely no clue about whether the pilgrimage will commence or will be curtailed.
The yatra is scheduled to commence on June 28. Now only 12 days are left in this, but the Shrine Board is not clearing its stand regarding whether the Yatra will take place or not, leaving the pilgrims confused and worried in more ways than one. “There is no information and no decision has been taken so far. Even now when the COVID graph has drastically come down, there are still fears of a third wave. Also, there would be confabulations over the strategy which is needed to be taken at present,” says an official.
Meanwhile, pilgrims have no clue over whether they should keep their bags packed or not. While seeking information from the board, all they are told is to wait for the official announcement.
The yatra had to be canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while in the year 2019, due to the process of repealing Article 370, the yatra had to be cut short on August 1 ahead of schedule. Two years later, more passengers are expected to arrive this time than in the past years.
In the year 2011, 6 lakh 36 thousand devotees participated in the pilgrimage while as in the year 2012; the number was 6 lakh 20 thousand. In 2013 number of pilgrims stood at 3 lakh 53 thousand, in 2014 3 lakh 72 thousand were there. In 2015, there were as many as 3 lakh 52 thousand devotees while as in 2016; the number was 2 lakh 20 thousand. In 2017, it was 2 lakh 60 thousand and in 2018, the number was 2 lakh 85 thousand. In 2019, there were as many as 3 lakh 42 thousand devotees and in 2020, the yatra was canceled due to COVID.
The journey, which is scheduled to commence from June 28 this year, is to be conducted over a 56-day period, but in the last week of April, the advance passenger registration was postponed indefinitely in view of the increase in Covid cases.
Earlier there were reports that the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board was going to hold a meeting in which the COVID-19 situation shall be discussed threadbare and also whether the Yatra will be allowed to commence at full scale or at a limited one. So far, the decision continues to remain in limbo.
Meanwhile, pilgrims have appealed the board authorities to clear the confusion to avoid any further chaos. |
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