YATRA CANCELLED
After lot of consultations and high level meetings finally good sense has prevailed on the decision makers as they cancelled the annual Amarnath Yatra in Kashmir.
In this direction even the scheduled yatra of two weeks was cancelled as Kashmir valley witnessed a worst period of pandemic.
An official announcement was made recently evening after the UT administration and SASB in a joint meeting conducted through video conference, chaired by Lt. Governor G C Murmu, who also is chairman of the shrine board, saying that in the given situation of the pandemic which has tested the limits of the health infrastructure, it would be “advisable to cancel the yatra” in the interests of the pilgrims too.
This is for the first time in the history of the pilgrimage that dates back to 19th century, when the cave shrine was discovered by shepherds, that the yatra has been cancelled due to the pandemic, though there were short-duration disruptions because of the natural calamities or the terror attacks.
In 2017, despite a major terror attack in south Kashmir, the yatra was continued as the then Governor and chairman of the SASB, N N Vohra had decided to go ahead with the pilgrimage.
The holy mace, better known as “Charri Mubarak” will, however, be facilitated to reach the shrine through special arrangements made by the J&K UT administration. It may be airlifted to the shrine on August 3, the Raksha Bandhan day that marks the conclusion of the yatra.
