Srinagar, June 6
The Amarnath Shrine Board has reacted to the statement of PDP president, Ms Mehbooba Mufti, in which she had alleged that efforts were on to isolate locals from the yatra arrangements beginning simultaneously via Pahalgam and Baltal from June 11.

Ms Mufti had expressed concern over the issues raised by a deputation from Kangan and Pahalgam which met her here yesterday. She assured them that the matter would be taken up to ensure the locals were “not deprived of livelihood by arbitrary functioning of the Shrine Board authorities”. She said involvement of locals was imperative for smooth Amarnath yatra and the Shrine Board must ensure the locals did not feel isolated. She said the government should also ensure construction in the area did not disturb its ecological balance.

A PDP spokesman stated here residents of Kangan and Pahalgam expressed distress over the move of the Amarnath Shrine Board imposing restrictions on the association of locals with the arrangements of Amarnath yatra. They complained that besides imposing various arbitrary restrictions, the Shrine Board had asked the labourers, pony-wallahs and tent owners to deposit Rs 2400 as registration fee with the board from the current year.

They also expressed dismay over the erection of huge concrete structures and construction of roads in the areas surrounding the cave. They said such moves would deprive the locals of livelihood and upset the ecological balance of the area. The deputation rued that unfortunately an effort was being made by the Shrine Board to create a wedge between locals and yatris.

Reacting to the statement, a spokesman of the Amarnath Shrine Board said it believed that Amarnath yatra was incomplete without the support of local population and described as baseless, the allegation that ponywallahs and labourers were being charged Rs 2400 for services to the pilgrims. The spokesman termed the allegation an attempt to drive a wedge between locals and the pilgrims as mischievous. “Such a comment by a responsible political party only vitiates the atmosphere”, the spokesman added. He also allayed fears about environmental degradation due to the yatra in the area and said that elaborate measures were taken to preserve and maintain ecology. He said that hundreds of locals were engaged in track clearance and raising infrastructure in Baltal and en route for which the Board was spending crores.

The spokesman pointed to repeated statements of Governor S.K. Sinha who is also the Chairman of the SASB that this important yatra was not possible without the hospitality and cooperation of the majority community especially the locals. The Governor has been complimenting people of Kashmir especially people of Pahalgam and Kangan, for their support and hospitality, which had witnessed increase in the influx of pilgrims in the past few years. 

Srinagar, June 6
The nomination papers of two candidates for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Jammu and Kashmir were accepted by the Returning Officer after the scrutiny here today.

Those left in the fray include Congress-PDP nominee Choudhary Mohammad Aslam and opposition National Conference candidate Mohammad Yusuf Taing. The papers of independent candidate Dr Mohammad Hussain Parray were rejected due to non-fulfilment of required formalities. The papers can be withdrawn on or before June 8 while the election will be held on June 15.

An official spokesman said the scrutiny of the papers was held in the office of the Returning Officer, Secretary of the state Assembly, Mr Iqbal Ganai, this morning in the presence of the candidates and their supporters. The Election Observer, appointed by the Election Commission of India, Ms Usha Sharma from Rajasthan, was also present on the occasion.

The lone seat from Jammu and Kashmir had fallen vacant due to the resignation of Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, who took over as the Chief Minister in November last year. He subsequently resigned from the seat after got elected to the Assembly from his home constituency of Bhaderwah in April 24 byelections.