Rag-picker makes millions out of trash
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srinagar — Undeterred by the terror attack that claimed seven lives, the annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine in Kashmir continued on Tuesday as thousands of devotees left for the temple with the authorities tightening security.
A blame game also started with the opposition questioning the government over “lack of action” on reported intelligence inputs about a possible terror attack on the pilgrims even as Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh acknowledged that there was a security lapse.
Both in Delhi and in Srinagar, high-level review meetings were held. Home Minister Rajnath Singh
The people of Kashmir have strongly condemned the terror attack on amarnath yatris. It shows the spirit of Kashmiriyat is very much alive Rajnath Singh
held a meeting with top government officials including National Security Advisor Ajit Dovala and the chiefs of Intelligence Bureau and RAW. Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti held separate meetings with officials.
The bodies of the pilgrims were flown to Gujarat and Maharashtra on Tuesday. The Gujarat government announced Rs1 million compensation to the kin of each of the dead from the state.
Two of the dead women were from Maharashtra whose bodies were sent to Dahanu town in the coastal district of Palgarh, around 100 km north-west of Mumbai.
Authorities in Kashmir said a fresh batch of 3,289 Amarnath pilgrims left Jammu for the Kashmir Valley with a convoy of 185 security vehicles. Hundreds more left from the base camp in Pahalgam — barely 50 km from the scene of the Monday attack — for the arduous trek to the shrine where devotees worship an ice stalagmite seen as a symbol of deity Shiva.
Police blamed the Pakistanbased Lashkar-e-Taiba for the attack and said the group was trying to stoke communal discord. But the outfit denied any role and called the attack “reprehensible”.
A possible security lapse is being blamed for the Monday attack as the bus had carried no escort and was moving after the quick response teams of the security forces had withdrawn from the highway after sundown, making the vehicle vulnerable to attacks. —