Neeraj Rohmetra
Jammu, Apr 21: The top level Sub-Committee, which had been constituted by the Supreme Court to implement recommendations for streamlining of Amarnath Yatra, has opposed On-Spot registration of yatris at Baltal, Chandanwari and Panjtarni on the plea that it would render meaningless the foundation principle that the pilgrimage be regulated to ensure safety and security of devotees.
Reliable sources told EXCELSIOR that these submissions have been made by Chief Executive Officer of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), Navin K Choudhary, who is also a member of the Sub-Committee in the petition before the Apex Court. The other members of the Committee are the Chief Secretary and the Home Secretary.
Opposing Spot-registration at these places, the petition says, “allowing them will nullify the concept that yatra be regulated before the pilgrims enter the yatra area at Baltal and Pahalgam, to ensure the safety of pilgrims. If spot registration is provided, it may lead to law and order problem, which can have adverse backlash in other parts of the country”.
“The whole intent and purpose of the said exercise is to ensure that the yatris, who are suffering from some serious ailments or who are not medically fit to undertake the strenuous route to pilgrimage should be restrained from the yatra. However, with the facility of on spot registration, the medical conditions of the yatris will not be verified, nor can the veracity of their health conditions confirmed”, the document says.
Elaborating further, the document says, “if On Spot registration is allowed at these places, a large number of pilgrims will arrive without obtaining a valid yatra permit and without their medical certificate. It would be extremely difficult to examine a large number of pilgrims for their medical fitness at base camps and then register them for the yatra”, adding, “allowing a yatri to obtain registration at the said places, without a prior proper medical examination could result in unwarranted casualties”.
Apprehending uncontrolled rush of unregistered yatris, the document states the roads leading to Baltal, Pahalgam and Chandanwari have a given traffic carrying capacity. When unregistered yatris will arrive in large numbers, the roads leading to such spots would be severely choked leading to traffic congestion and, thus, severely obstructing the ingress of valid yatris.
“Balatal, Chandanwari and Panjtarni are located in high mountainous areas, where the provision for boarding and lodging facilities and other arrangements for yatris are constrained by the topography and terrain, fragility of the ecosystem, etc. Arrival of larger persons at such camps unannounced will generate many consequences, resulting in chaos”, the document says.
The Committee has submitted that an uncontrolled rush of unregistered yatris would lead to overcrowding of the yatra camps and on the paths leading to a stampede or any other catastrophe.
The Sub-Committee has also opposed the directions for allowing installation of iron grills with gaps not less than 12 inches between them in front of the Shivlingam on the plea that such an arrangement would result in reduction of the life of Ice lingam.
“The provision of grills with gap of not less than 12 inches between the parallel bars (which are perpendicular to the ground) will negate the very purpose for which the grills have been installed. Such an arrangement would allow the yatris to easily throw coins, currency notes, decorative chunis, brass lotas and other articles towards the Lingam in devotion, but it would affect the life of Ice Lingam”, says the document.
In the past, the SASB had explored various possible technological options like using refrigeration, installing cooling panels, using chemical ice, etc, for prolonging the life of the Ice Lingam. The Board had also examined the option of installing an artificial crystal lingam (made of supreme glass crystal) in the Holy Cave so that the devotees had the satisfaction of having prayed before the Lingam, even after the natural Ice Lingam had totally melted.
“However, taking all aspects into consideration and recognizing that devotees from all parts of the country visit the shrine and worship the natural Ice Lingam, the State and SASB decided that it would not be appropriate to install an artificial lingam in the Holy Cave, and it was further decided that nothing should be done at the Holy Cave, through any technological intervention, which could interfere with the annual formation of the natural Ice Lingam”, says the document of Sub-Committee.
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