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| Niyas approaches Raj Bhawan, SASB adamant | | Curtailment of Amarnath Yatra | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Apr 20: Despite several Hindu religious and social organisations expressing anger and disgust over the decision of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) to curtail duration of Amarnath Yatra, the board has seemingly decided not to review the decision. According to an official handout issued here today, SASB has given a detailed account of reasons which led them to curtail the duration of Yatra. It has given this explanation after a delegation of the Baba Amarnath Avam Baba Buda Amarnath Yatri Niyas headed by its President, Surinder Mohan Aggarwal, presented a Memorandum to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) R. K. Goyal of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, here today at Raj Bhavan.
Memorandum makes an appeal to the Governor, who is also the Chairman of the Shrine Board, for reconsidering the Board’s decision in regard to the duration of this year’s Yatra. Referring to the Memorandum presented by the delegation, Goyal said that the decision with regard to the duration and schedule of the Shri Amarnathji Yatra 2011, along both Chandanwari and Baltal routes, was taken by the Shrine Board after extensive discussions at its meeting held on February 18, 2011 which took into consideration all related factors which are important for ensuring the safe, secure and smooth conduct of this arduous annual pilgrimage to the Holy Cave located at an altitude of 13,500 feet, involving a difficult climbing exercise across high mountain ranges in totally unpredictable weather conditions.
Goyal stated that the Board, chaired by the Governor, is comprised by eminent personalities like Sri Sri Ravi Shanker, who is known all over the world for his Art of Living, Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan who is a well-known scholar and perhaps the best known expert in the field of culture, Prof. Ved Kumari Ghai who is an eminent Sanskrit scholar, Pandit Bhajan Sopori who is a renowned musician and Pandit G. D. Sharma, a scholar who is a former Judge of the J&K High Court.
It was reiterated that the Shrine Board is obligated to take into account all relevant considerations to decide the duration and the schedule of the annual Yatra and the safety and security of the Yatris is among the foremost concerns of the Shrine Board. As regards the duration and schedule of the annual Yatra it is necessary to note that the climate pattern and the extent of snow fall during the preceding winter has a direct bearing on the dates by which both the two Yatra routes are likely to become operational in the succeeding summer.
Past experience has shown that it is not practical to initially fix an early date for the commencement of the Yatra and then alter it one or more times because of bad weather conditions. Such an approach, as happened in 2009, generated large scale complaints from Yatris arriving from Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Bihar who had procured confirmed railway bookings for their return journeys on pre-determined dates and could not get tickets for the revised dates. It is, therefore, necessary for the Yatra schedule to commence on a date which is likely to remain firm, keeping the past weather pattern in view.
It is not out of place to recognize that there are sharply contrary opinions about the ideal duration of the Yatra. Certain socio-religious organisations in Jammu and elsewhere have been questioning the Shrine Board of the basis on which the Yatra is allowed to exceed 30 days. Side by side, issues are also raised about the basis on which the duration of the Yatra can be reduced to less than 60 days. These sharply contrary views regarding the duration of the Yatra have not so far been harmonized.
Members of the delegation included Jagdish Dogra, President, Sanatan Dharam Sabha, Banarsi Dass Sharma, Coordinator of the Niyas, Udhampur, Mahavir Prasad Agarwal, President, Agarwal Sabha, Dr. V. K. Gupta, VHP, Jammu City, Varinder Jain, President, Shri Shwetambar Jain Sabha, Pawan Jain, Shri Atmanand Jain Sabha, G. S. Pathania, VHP, Kathua and Daneshwar Singh Jamwal, Convenor of the Niyas.
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