Covid: Amarnath Yatra cancelled
The Amarnath yatra has been cancelled for this year in view of the alarming spike in the number of cases of Coronavirus in various parts of the country and the possible huge impact of the pandemic on the logistics and the smooth conduct of the pilgrimage.
An official spokesman here said that the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) at an emergency review meeting held on Tuesday decided to cancel the yatra “in larger public interest” in view of the pandemic and its likely impact on the pilgrimage. The spokesman said that the Board at its 39th meeting presided over by its chairman L-G Girish Chandra Murmu, and attended by its members through video conference held a threadbare discussion on the current circumstances.
“It was reasonably observed that it would be advisable to cancel this year’s yatra in larger public interest”, the spokesman said.
The annual pilgrimage to the revered cave-shrine tucked away in Kashmiri Himalayas at a height of
3,888 metres and about
141 km from Srinagar, was as per initial announcement made by the SASB scheduled to begin on June 23 coinciding with Skandshasthi, an auspicious occasion in the Hindu calendar, and conclude on August 3, the day of Shravan Purnima or Raksha Bandhan.
However, the pandemic forced the authorities to shorten the duration of the yatra and restrict it to shorter Baltal route via Srinagar. It was also announced that only 500 people will be allowed to visit the cave-shrine daily during the two-week long yatra beginning on July 21 from Jammu.
Meanwhile, Shiv lingam, the naturally formed ice lingam at the Amarnath cave-shrine, has melted almost completely, owing to the rise in temperature, reports received here said.
According to earlier reports, the Shiv lingam was in full bloom until mid-June but its size and girth started decreasing afterwards. It was reduced to half by the first week of July and when defence minister, Rajnath Singh, visited the revered place of worship on July 18, it had melted more than 80 per cent.
The legend goes that during the month of Sawan or Shravan (July and August), the ice stalagmite forms a natural Shivling or ice-lingam that of Shiva which waxes and wanes with the phases of the moon at Amarnath - the interesting phenomenon that attracts tens of thousands of devotes from across the country and abroad every year. However, this year’s yatra has been cancelled.