“We could not have asked for anything more: An about 14-feet long and four-feet wide naturally-formed Ice Lingam of Lord Shiva with a snow white idol of Nandi Ganesha in front of it and a pair of doves in the cave shrine. What else a devotee of Lord Shiva needs,” said a visibly moved Promilla Sarkar from Kolkata, who was among the hundreds of devotees comprising the first batch to pay obeisance at the sanctum sanctorum on June 29.

Like Promilla, there were a large number of other pilgrims, who were overjoyed on seeing a fully developed Ice Lingam. Emotionally-surcharged devotees were chanting religious hymns at the sanctum sanctorum while having the darshan of the Ice Lingam.

Pradeep Kumar, a man in his 60s, trekked the arduous Baltal track overnight in heavy rain to reach the shrine in the morning. Summing up his experience, Pradeep, who hails from Nabha in Punjab, said he had been visiting the Amarnath shrine since 2000 and this time he found the Ice Lingam in a good health.

“Though the cave shrine is itself pious, every pilgrim has a burning desire to see the Ice Lingam in its full glory. I am lucky that I saw the Shiv Lingam this time,” he said.

“Going by the condition of the Ice Lingam, it appeared that it would stay for a longer period this year and like me all devotees of Lord Shiva would get an opportunity to see it,” he added.

Pradeep said despite heavy rain along the Baltal route, he kept moving with a group of four youths to reach the shrine on June 29 morning. “Last year, I had come late and the size of the Ice Lingam had reduced. So, this time I wanted to be among the first to make it to the cave shrine,” he said with a sense of satisfaction.

In the past there had been instances when the pilgrims were disappointed over the early melting of the ice stalagmite following the rise in the temperature around the cave shrine. Vinod Bhave from Maharashtra had brought along a big brass trident to the shrine, which attracted the attention of other pilgrims.

The CRPF personnel, though they had been gentle with the yatris, had a tough time controlling them as everyone was eager to have the darshan of the Ice Lingam. “All of them are eager to pay obeisance at the shrine and sometimes they create difficulties for others,” said Deepak Sharma, Commanding Officer of the 90 Battalion of the CRPF, stationed in the shrine area.

Srinagar, July 1
The movement of the pilgrims to the Amarnath cave shrine on the Baltal route was suspended today due to heavy rains that had been lashing the area since last night, while a fresh batch of pilgrims left via the Pahalgam route on the third day of the yatra this morning.

The condition of the 14-km trek Baltal track to the cave shrine was slippery and the yatra was suspended considering the safety of the pilgrims, said RK Goyal, Chief Executive Officer of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB). He said the movement of the pilgrims was normal via the traditional Pahalgam route. Pilgrims also trudged the 36-km trek between Chandanwari and the cave shrine today. “No pilgrims were allowed to proceed on the yatra on the Baltal route due to the bad weather conditions and any decision to resume the movement of the pilgrims would be taken after reviewing the condition of the tracks,” officials here said.

While there was a slow movement of pilgrims along the Chandanwari axis, around 22,000 pilgrims had the darshan of the Ice Lingam of Lord Shiva today.

A large number of pilgrims have been converging on the Baltal base camp, about 100 km from here on the Srinagar-Ladakh axis, to undertake the yatra. “Many people from different parts of the country have been coming to the area on the yatra without proper registration,” a security officer said. He added that this was coming in the way of the smooth flow of pilgrims on the Baltal route. To restrict the number of pilgrims, a number of vehicles were stopped at various places between Srinagar and Sonmarg “as all camps were full” and there was no space available, the officer said. 

Bhadarwah, July 1
The annual Machail yatra was set into motion as the one-day Trishul Bhent yatra was received with traditional fervour by a large number of devotees here today.The yatra customarily starts from Doda, 30 km from here. The Chief Executive Officer, Bhadarwah Development Authority, and DSP, Bhadarwah, M Jameel formally received it at Domail here.

A large number of local residents, including women, were present. The yatra is considered sacred by Hindus here.

The Trishul is brought from the Chandi Mata mandir, Doda, in a procession of vehicles after a congregation of devotees from adjoining areas as well as Jammu had performed a pooja. The yatra marks the beginning of the month-long Machail yatra, which starts on August 18 every year when the Trishul is taken to Machail village in the Paddar area of Kishtwar district. Till then the Trishul is kept at the Chandi Mata mandir here.

The devotees congregated at the Chandi Mata mandir to have the darshan of the Trishul. A langar and a kirtan were also organised on the occasion.

Jammu, July 1
Keeping in view the unprecedented rise in the prices of essential commodities, the state government has enhanced the ration quota for below the poverty line (BPL) families and for those who are getting ration under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY).

The enhanced ration will be given to deserving people from this month and 7.36 lakh poor families from all over the state will be benefited from it. “We have taken the step to give relief to the poor families in the state, as the prices of essential commodities have increased manifold during the past few months,” Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) Qamar Ali Akhoon told The Tribune. He said the BPL families and those covered under the AAY would get the enhanced he ration from this month.

The BPL families in the state are getting 20 kg of wheat/atta and 20 kg of rice per month. They are getting atta at the rate of Rs 5.35 per kg, rice at Rs 6.40 per kg and wheat at Rs 4.80 per kg.

Though the rice quota has remained the same, the authorities have announced to enhance the atta quota from 20 kg to 30 kg.

Similarly, the AAY families get 15 kg of wheat/atta at Rs 2 per kg and 20 kg of rice at Rs 3 per kg. For the AAY families, the ration quota has been increased from 35 kg to 50 kg and the additional 15 kg will be given to them at the BPL rates.

All tehsil supply officers of the CAPD Department have issued orders in this regard and the additional ration will reach the tehsil headquarters in a couple of days. The CAPD has already constituted a Vigilance Committee to keep a check on the misuse of the subsidised ration, which is exclusively meant for the poor.

The minister admitted that the Above Poverty Line (APL) families were not getting the full quota of ration from CAPD outlets due to the supply shortage. “As far as the BPL or the AAY families are concerned, there is no shortage of ration, but the APL families are facing a few problems,” he said.

On the allegation of discrepancies in the existing BPL lists, the minister said the process of re-verification had been going on. “A few Deputy Commissioners have already submitted their reports, but we are still awaiting the reports of other Deputy Commissioners so as to take further decision,” Akhoon said.

To keep a check on the misuse of BPL cards, the state government has issued unique photo ration cards, which will be given to all ration card holders covered under the APL, BPL and AAY categories.

Bhadarwah (Doda), July 1
The Bhadarwah campus of the University of Jammu is set to become the first outside campus of the university to have a video-conferencing facility, which is expected to make up to a large extent for the general lack of interest among resource persons to deliver lectures to postgraduate students here.

Rector of the campus, Dr Desh Bandhu Gupta, told The Tribune that video-conferencing was likely to become operational during the current academic session. “We are in the process of setting up necessary infrastructure. A couple of private agencies have already given demonstrations in this regard,” he said. He admitted that the technology could help in overcoming the constraints regarding the availability of subject experts in the larger interest of students here.

The reluctance on the part of subject experts to come to the campus is attributed to psychological barriers. One of them is the road connectivity problem, stemming from road mishaps and landslides in the mountainous area, especially en route the 56-km stretch between Batote and Doda. The perceived security factor for outsiders is also a deterrent.

Moreover, there is no air connectivity to facilitate experts from universities outside the state to come here. As part of the initiative, the campus authorities have already shared the idea of tying up with Business School on the main campus, University of Jammu, to facilitate an expert talk to the MBA students here. This will become possible only when a similar facility is put in place at Jammu.

“Whenever some expert is delivering a lecture on the main campus, about 200 km from Bhadarwah, he or she can be accessed here as well,” added Dr Gupta.

“We are trying to bring here the faculty from the main campus or even experts from outside the state. But we have a disadvantage as the campus is still in its nascent stage. Apart from the video-conferencing, we are also planning to have an audio-visual facility in each lecture room for the purpose,” he said.

There are around 150 students pursuing postgraduate courses in MBA, MCA and MA (English) on the campus, which though set up in 2006 were shifted to the present building inaugurated by the President of India in 2008.

Srinagar, July 1
The security forces arrested a conduit of the Hizbul Mujahideen from the Shekargah Pinglish area of Pulwama district today and recovered a Chinese grenade and Rs 90,000 of hawala money from him.

“The police had specific information regarding the movement of a Hizbul Mujahideen conduit,” a police spokesperson said.

Acting on the tip-off, the police and the 42 Rashtriya Rifles established multiple checkpoints in the Pinglish and Rathsoona areas,” he added.

“One person was found moving in suspicious circumstances at the Pinglish crossing. During a search, a Chinese grenade, Rs 90,000 of hawala money and a letter pad of the Hizbul Mujahideen was recovered from his possession,” the spokesman said.

During initial investigations, the accused identified himself as Mudasir Ahmad Dar from Frisal village in Kulgam district, he added. A case has been registered. 

Srinagar, July 1
The police today solved the murder case of a forest official by arresting four employees of the state Forest Department, including one official.On June 21, Sonaullah Zargar (32), an employee of the Forest Department, was murdered and his body was dumped in the Ahji water canal in Budgam.

“When the police found the body, it bore torture marks. Investigations revealed that Zargar had become a victim of official rivalry and was killed by his colleagues for opposing the illegal felling of trees and timber smuggling,” a police spokesman said.

Four persons, identified as Abdul Gani War (Block Forest Officer), Farooq Ahmad Dar, Abdul Razaq Dar and Mohammad Ashraf Mir, all residents of Arizal, were arrested in connection with Zargar’s murder. The police said the investigations had so far revealed that the accused, Abdul Gani War, had hatched a criminal conspiracy with other arrested persons to eliminate Zargar. Zargar used to report the instances of timber smuggling to the higher authorities. “On the day of his killing, Zargar had led a special team of forest officials for having a first-hand account of the damage caused to the forest block in the recent times. Gani War was supervising the block. On the special team’s return after inspecting the area, Zargar was beaten by the accused with rods and axes and his body was thrown in the canal,” the spokesman said. He added that the investigations were on and more arrests in the case were likely.