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Tribune Special
For safer Amarnath yatra, wider track & cap on number of pilgrims
Tribune News Service

ARDUOUS TREK Two serpentine tracks to the holy shrine take off from base camps at Baltal in north Kashmir and Nunwan-Pahalgam in south Kashmir The Pahalgam route involves scaling Mahagunus Pass (14,500ft), while those undertaking the journey from Baltal have to negotiate sharp and steep curves to reach the shrine, located at a height of 13,500 ft above the sea level HUGE PRICE Four pilgrims had died on the opening day of the yatra (June 25) this year. The death toll crossed 100 by the time the yatra concluded on August 2. There were 117 deaths last year

Jammu, August 27
From the draft report of a high-powered panel to study facilities for Amarnath pilgrims in Kashmir, it is clear that the track to the cave shrine would be widened and there would be a firm cap on the number of pilgrims undertaking the pilgrimage.

The two measures suggested in the report aim at averting accidents and deaths. Chief Secretary Madhav Lal is the convener of the panel.

According to Health Minister Sham Lal Sharma, the maximum number of casualties occurred due to cardiac arrest. This problem had arisen because many pilgrims landed there without registration. Some of them even carried fake medical fitness certificates.

Two serpentine tracks to the holy shrine take off from the base camps at Baltal in north Kashmir and Nunwan-Pahalgam in south Kashmir. The Pahalgam route involves scaling Mahagunus Pass (14,500 ft), while those undertaking the journey from Baltal have to negotiate sharp and steep curves to reach the shrine, located at a height of 13,500 ft above sea level.

The panel has also recommended that an unyielding cap should be put on the number of pilgrims visiting the shrine. Since 2011, more than six lakh pilgrims have started visiting the shrine. This has made environmentalists and others in the Kashmir Valley rise in opposition. They had also opposed the proposal of constructing a road to the shrine.

Not only separatists, even members of civil society in the Valley have also come out in the open against the increasing number of pilgrims. While it is a matter of faith for the pilgrims coming from across the country, separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani has linked it to the “Indian effort to boost the morale of the Indian Army”.

The report makes no mention of the proposed road to the cave shrine. But it makes a mention of the limited capacity of the cave. “Not many pilgrims can have darshan at a time. Moreover, darshan period should be restricted from dusk to dawn,” the report says.

The draft has been prepared in the light of directions of the Supreme Court regarding facilities for the pilgrims and the high number of deaths on the track.

“The report would be submitted to the Supreme Court before September 10,” an official told The Tribune.

Four pilgrims had died on the opening day of the yatra itself (June 25). The death toll crossed 100 by the time, yatra concluded on August 2. Last year, there were 117 deaths.

The shrine at Amarnath, which in Sanskrit means lord of the immortals, is a popular destination for pilgrims from all across the country.

“The draft also contains suggestions like having permanent primary health centres at Baltal and other places en route the shrine. There would be stringent health check-ups and no one would be allowed to proceed on the yatra without a fitness certificate.

Cemented plates would be placed at the places where there is slush, and it would also be ensured that there is sufficient place for the ponywallahs and pilgrims to trek together. There is also a proposal to have more toilets along the route. On the environmental front, the report warrants that garbage collection should be a simultaneous process so that no plastic or rotten things get littered here and there.