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Governor,
CM lock horns over pilgrimage
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Mufti
promises development in hilly, border areas Pakistanis
to visit mela
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Governor, CM lock horns over pilgrimage Jammu, June 23 The Governor, Lt-Gen. S.K. Sinha (retd), and the Mufti are face to face over the issue as the former has not relished the rejection of his proposal for extending the pilgrimage to two months by the Chief Minister. The Governor has taken exception to the bureaucracy creating hurdles in the smooth conduct of the pilgrimage in the south Kashmir. The VHP and other religious organisations have described the action of the Mufti as interference in religious affairs of Hindus. The pilgrimage in the past few years has remained controversial because of bad arrangements by the administration, particularly at the takeoff point here. All this has been raising suspicions among the devotees about the intentions of the authorities concerned. The dispute between the Governor and the Chief Minister over the conduct of the pilgrimage has added fuel to the fire. The Governor, who is chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), which is a statutory body to take care of the pilgrimage, had earlier made several recommendations for improvement in the yatra and to make the pilgrimage comfortable for those undertaking it. The Mufti had summarily rejected all these recommendations without consulting the Governor. While the Mufti, due to security reasons, was averse to the idea of extending the pilgrimage by one month, reports indicated that people had started visiting the cave shrine unofficially and without security personnel deployed on the nearly 30 km route. Between 500 and 700 persons were visiting the shrine every day, reports said. It is being alleged that the authorities are adopting double standards over the issue and allowing certain residents of Pahalgam to make a quick buck by smuggling the devotees to the shrine even before the yatra begins officially. Pahalgam has been the constituency of Ms Mehbooba Mufti. On the other hand, the SASB is worried that with so many persons offering prayers at the Amarnath cave every day, the ice “lingam” will melt by the time the pilgrimage officially starts. It is being alleged that the pilgrimage is being curtailed intentionally by the government that is on one hand claiming that there is a 10 time increase in tourists to the Kashmir valley because of the improved scenario and on the other creating hurdles for the SASB. The decision of the state government to allow only 3,500 pilgrims to proceed to the shrine every day has created doubts as this recommendation of the Nitish Sengupta committee is being implemented after eight years. The committee was set up following the death of 243 persons in a snowstorm in 1996. The SASB has pointed out that the government did not bother to enforce the restrictions earlier and 15,000 pilgrims were allowed to proceed to the shrine in a single day last year. The average daily flow of pilgrims in the first week of the pilgrimage last year was 8000. The Congress, a coalition partner of the PDP, is toeing the line of the Governor. The Mufti and the Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Mangat Ram Sharma, have publicly taken opposite stands on the pilgrimage issue. During a recent function here, the Mufti had rejected the demand of Mr Sharma for extending the pilgrimage to two months. The Chief Minister has taken the stand that it is not possible to provide foolproof security arrangements for the pilgrims for two months on the nearly 400 km route between Pathankot and the Amarnath shrine. Terrorists massacred a large number of pilgrims in 2000 and had been trying to target devotees thereafter. |
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Amarnath ‘yatra’ rituals from July 2 Jammu, June 23 Announcing the detailed programme of the pilgrimage, Mahant Deependra Giri said the holy mace would commence its journey to the Amarnath shrine on August 25 from the Dashnami Akhara, Srinagar, at 9 a.m. for the night halt at Pahalgam. En route, prayers would be offered at the Durganag temple (Srinagar), Shiv temples (Pampore and Bijbehara) and Martand Tirth (Mattan). The mace would rest at Pahalgam for the night and leave for Chandanwari on August 27. It would leave for Sheshnag at 7 a.m. on August 28, from where it would proceed to Panchtarani on August 29. The holy mace would proceed to the cave shrine of Amarnath for “puja” at 7 a.m. on August 30 (Raksha Bandhan) and would return to Panchtarni before dusk. The mace would reach its abode of Dashnami Akhara in Srinagar on September 1. Prior to leaving for Pahalgam on August 25, several rituals would be held at various places in the Kashmir valley. “Bhoomi pujan” and “dhwajarohan” ceremonies would be held at Pahalgam on July 2. The holy mace would be taken to the Shankaracharaya temple at Srinagar on August 16. Mahant Deependra Giri, in a letter to the divisional commissioner, Kashmir, urged him to devise the needed mechanism to ensure that there was no untoward incident during the pilgrimage. There had always been heavy downpour during the pilgrimage whenever Raksha Bandhan falls in the second half of August. This year the festival was on August 30, the mahant pointed out. |
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HC directs govt to file objections in Jammu, June 23 In a petition filed by the Shri Baba Amarnath Yatri Nyas and the Sanatan Dharam Sabha against the government for curtailing the ‘yatra’ to one month instead of two months, Mr Justice Y.P. Nargotra directed the Mufti government to file objections with one week. Mr Justice Nargotra fixed the next hearing in the case for June 28 along with a fresh petition. Additional Advocate-General Anil Sethi sought time for filing objections on behalf of the state along with senior advocate U.K. Jalali. Mr Justice Nargotra observed that as the counsel for the respondents had agreed to file objections before the next date of hearing in view of the urgency involved, they might do so and directed that the case be listed along with a fresh petition.
— PTI |
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EU delegation visits LoC Srinagar, June 23 On their arrival here, the delegation met the Jammu and Kashmir Governor, Lieut-Gen S.K. Sinha (retd.) at Raj Bhavan and discussed the overall situation in Jammu and Kashmir. They also met the Finance Minister, Muzaffar Hussain Beigh, in the afternoon. Later, they went to the Hyderpora residence of senior separatist leader and chairman of the breakaway group of Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani. General Sinha told the delegation that situation was returning to normal in the state notwithstanding isolated incidents of violence in the hinterland. Peaceful borders, holding of the December ceasefire on International Border and Line of Control and above all Kashmiris’ preference for peace has given a big boost to tourism and the sagged economy, he added. At a luncheon meeting with the visiting European Parliamentarians at the picturesque Raj Bhavan overlooking Dal Lake here, the Governor said one-and-a-half decade-long terrorism did create turbulence in the Valley but its ethos remained intact. General Sinha referred to the recent Kheer Bhawani Mela, an annual festival of Kashmiri Pandits at Tulmula shrine, and said the scenes of communal amity moved everyone when Muslims in large numbers joined their Hindus to celebrate the occasion and gave them shelter at their dwelling places when weather Gods played spoilsport. The heartening feature was the youngsters outnumbering their elders in offering help to devotees. He dwelt at length on the growth of militancy in Kashmir at the behest of the hostile neighbour, ethnic cleansing and division of people as a result of intolerance preached by religious zealots, devastation and destruction of assets raised over the years. He also referred to the measures taken to tackle terrorism without harming innocent civilians and dialogue process initiated at various levels to bring about peace and normalcy. The ongoing peace process and Indo-Pak dialogue has rekindled a hope for lasting peace in the Indo-Pak region, beneficiaries of which would mostly be Kashmiris who have undergone a long period of trauma, he added. The Governor said tourism was fast picking up which will improve the state’s economy. Against 28,000 in 2002, over 1.70 lakh tourists visited the Valley last year, he said, hoping that it would go up to five lakh this year, which will be a record. He said economic activities are ascending and all vital sectors have undergone a
sea change with improvement discernible in all fields. The Governor heard the impressions of parliamentarians about their visit to Kashmir. In an hour-long meeting with the delegation, Syed Ali Shah Geelani put forth his point of view before finding a solution to the Kashmir problem in accordance with the aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The members had also meeting with other separatist leaders, including Sheikh Abdul Aziz. |
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Mufti promises development in
hilly, border areas Srinagar, June 23 Addressing public meetings in far flung areas of Kargil district of Ladakh region yesterday, the Chief Minister said the coalition government was seized of the problems faced by people in remote areas and efforts had been initiated to change their development profile. Mufti, accompanied by three of his ministerial colleagues and the Ladakh MP, Thupstan Chewang, began his two-day visit of the area yesterday to take stock of the local problems and inaugurate some development projects, an official spokesman said. Referring to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil, the Chief Minister said one of the first few important decisions implemented by the government was the creation of the council for the district. He said the setting up of the council had met the long pending demands of the people and ensured their participation in the planning and development process at the district level. He appealed to the people of Zanskar, a remote area of the district, which remains cut off for about nine months from the rest of the world, to shun the boycott of the council and asked them return their three representatives to the council. He assured them that their grievances would be taken care of. Laying the foundation of a block of the Tourist Dak Bungalow at Padam, the Chief Minister said the entire Ladakh region was adventure tourists’ delight. He added when the tourism in the valley suffered the worst, the region attracted both domestic and foreign tourists. He said Ladakh route to the Mansarovar in Tibet would further open the region for tourism. He asked the MPs from Jammu and Kashmir to jointly plead with the Centre to open the route saying that it was the shorter and easy than the one from where presently the pilgrims from India go there. |
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Pakistanis to visit mela Jammu, June 23 According to an official spokesman, the Sialkot sector commander of the Pak Rangers, along with a large number of civilians, would come to the International Border to participate in the mela that is held every year at the “dargah” of Baba Chamalayal. The mela would be held at the border outpost of the BSF in the Ramgarh sector. |
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IAF organises blood camp in Rajouri Jammu, June 23 Personnel of the IAF, Defence Security Corps, Army, BSF and civilians donated blood. Air Cmdre V. Babu, officiating Air Officer Commanding, inaugurated the camp organised by the air force station, Jammu. He lauded the efforts of the station for doing a commendable job under inhospitable conditions in the village. |
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