Srinagar, June 29
Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said here today that Shri Amarnath Shrine Board had withdrawn its request for forest land, that led to a lot of tension and violence, required to make arrangements for the annual pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath.

Governor N.N. Vohra conveyed to the Chief Minister that the shrine board “did not need to pursue its earlier request for forest land being diverted” for creating the temporary facilities for the pilgrims to Amarnath cave in south Kashmir.

Talking to media persons here this afternoon, Azad said he had received a letter in this regard from Governor N.N. Vohra, who is also the chairman of the shrine board. He made it clear that the shrine board was not being dissolved as had been given to understand by some leaders in Jammu. Azad said the state government was ready to provide all facilities for Amarnath pilgrims during the ongoing yatra that began on June 18. The two-month-long annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave concludes in mid August on “Shrawan Poornima”, coinciding with Raksha Bandhan festival.

Union minister for water resources and state PCC president Saifuddin Soz was also present on the occasion, as the leaders were engaged in resolving the crisis due to the withdrawal of support by the main coalition partner, PDP. In view of the controversial land issue to the shrine board, the PDP had here yesterday announced that its ministers had resigned and withdrawn support to the government, reducing it to a minority.

There have been a large number of protests against land transfer during the past one week resulting in at least four deaths and injuries to over 400 others across Kashmir valley.

Earlier, the Chief Minister had assured the Governor that his government would provide requisite facilities for the Amarnath pilgrims.

The assurance from the Chief Minister came in response to a letter from the Governor, who is also the chairman of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, asking if the state government was ready to assume the responsibility of undertaking the required logistical development and provide all required support and facilities to the pilgrims. The Governor in his letter to the Chief Minister had also enquired if the government would undertake the responsibility and provide all facilities and fully ensure their welfare, safety and security during the yatra period, an official spokesman here said.

In response, the Chief Minister had written to the Governor that the state government “undertakes to discharge all responsibilities that the Governor has mentioned in his letter”, adding it was the duty of the government to do everything that was required to be done in public interest. The Chief Minister said: “We strongly feel that it is in the interest of the state government and the people at large to not only provide all support and facilities to the pilgrims but also to ensure their full safety and security.”

The Chief Minister added that the Amarnath yatra had been going on for more than a century and a half and had always been supported by the people of the valley. “We will not permit this great tradition of communal harmony and togetherness to be tampered with”, the Chief Minister said.

The Governor in a separate statement appealed to the leaders of all sections of society to call upon their followers urgently to halt the on-going protests with immediate effect so that peace and normalcy was restored. This, the Governor said, would ensure that the Amarnath yatra, which is a shining symbol of the deeply secular traditions of the Kashmiri people, was conducted in a manner “which recalls its 160 years old glorious history”. “In so far as the long term issues relating to the Amarnath Yatra are concerned, I propose to hold consultations with eminent social and religious personalities, of all faiths, in the coming weeks”, the Governor stated. “From the perspective of the shrine board the essential issue is its responsibility to provide the requisite facilities for the yatris. As such, the transfer of land, per se, is not the issue”, he stated.

The copies of the Governor’s statement were circulated to the media persons here this afternoon.

Referring to the government order to sanction the diversion of 39.88 hectares of forestland to the shrine board for prefabricated structures, the Governor said the misrepresentation of facts, background and actual significance contributed to a grave wrong perception.