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| 'Amarnath Yatra possible throughout year, requires planning' | | Study rebuts govt claims | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, May 25: Study on Amarnath Yatra has rebutted the inevitable conclusion that yatra for Shri Amarnathji can never ever come close to the Vaishno Devi yatra
It has grounded theory of rough terrain and inevitable weather making the Amarnath Yatra impossible. It accepts that terrain at Amarnath is much more rugged than at Mata Vaishno Devi and that Shrine is at 13, 500 feet versus 5, 200 feet at Vaishno Devi. Besides, high altitude causes more breathing problems and leads to almost one death a day compared to one a month at Vaishno Devi.
Traditional route to Amarnath via Chandanwari takes five days compared to just one for Vaishno Devi. Weather too at Amarnath remains more hostile with minus zero temperatures prevailing for more than six months in a year, says the study. Citing a solution, the study maintains that a tunnel at Gund, already being planned by BRO, can make Sonemarg accessible round the year.
A ropeway project on the lines of Gulmarg Gondola project which connects Apharwat at 16, 000 feet, would make Amarnath accessible round the year. A feasibility report stands already made by RITES, the same agency that made the reports for the Gulmarg project, but the nodal authority for clearing all ropeway projects in the state, has been refusing to clear this project for the last seven years.
Moreover, the study said that for the devout Shaivite, Shivratri which falls in February-March remains an even more important day. Obviously a visit to Amarnath in February-March is impossible. But supposing a ropeway or a helicopter could make such a visit possible. For Vaishno Devi too, as older devotees can readily recall, the only period when arrangements for pilgrims used to be made by state government during the days of Maharaja were two Navratras in Spring (March-April) and Autumn (October-November).
Even today, these two Navratras are considered most auspicious. However, pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi today continues 24 X 7, 365 days a year. Technology naturally has played a big role in making such round-the-clock darshans possible. The capacity of the original cave at Vaishno Devi, which entailed crawling on all fours, was limited to two thousand only per day. Till the 70s, therefore, only twenty-five could enter the cave at one time and the next batch of twenty-five had to wait till the earlier group came back the same way.
Use of modern technology enabled construction of an "exit tunnel" by the Dharmarth trust which increased the daily Darshan capacity five fold to almost ten thousand. Construction of another tunnel facilitated by the Shrine Board increased this through put to almost twenty thousand. And now a third tunnel that has been successfully commissioned in 2009 which has doubled the capacity to almost forty thousand per day or over one crore a year.
In any case a ropeway project, if allowed to come up in the Amarnath sector, would solve most of the pollution problems caused by hundreds of mules and horses going up on the track. It will also enable pilgrims to 'fly over' the occasional wildlife that may like to cross the current trekking route during the daytime, asserts the study.
Study has stressed that most strident voices against the functioning of a strong SASB is the plethora of government agencies which involve themselves in the "management" of the Amarnath yatra. Food and Supplies Department claims to be spending lakhs on transporting ration and cooking gas cylinders to various halting camps.
However, the study says that department's claim sounds absurd Forest Dept similarly transports and stores tonnes of fire wood at the cost of the Department when again any one needing firewood for cooking, space heating or cremation readily pays for that. Health Dept doesn't provide free medicines in the government hospitals in the Valley but at the Amarnath halting camps, it does that.
The Roads and Building Dept. "clears" snows from the Chandanwari track and charges the Govt. a few crores for the favour, when actually they just wait for the snows to melt and then prepare the bills. Electricity Department supplies power through diesel gensets for four hours a day and charges for eight, claims the study. |
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