This year, the annual Amarnath yatra will commence on June 29 and culminate on the Raksha Bandhan Day, which falls on August 7.
Ahead of next month's Amarnath yatra, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has written to Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra, who is also the chairman of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti demanding that the pilgrimage route be handed over to the Army to keep the separatists, stone pelters and terrorists at bay.
It has also asked for opening Leh-Kargil-Drass-Baltal route to avoid the volatile valley and ensure peaceful and incident-free pilgrimage in the Himalayas. This year, the annual Amarnath yatra will commence on June 29 and culminate on the Raksha Bandhan Day, which falls on August 7.
"In view of the disturbances created by the stone pelters, separatists and terrorists, the authorities should not only open the Leh-Kargil-Drass-Baltal route but also hand over the entire yatra route to the Army a week before the commencement of the yatra," said Surendra Kumar Jain, its International Joint General Secretary.
He also called for giving Army a free hand to deal with the terrorists and stone pelters in the valley. "Army should be given a free hand to deal with any situation during yatra," he said.
Situated in a narrow gorge at an altitude of 3,888 metres, the Holy Amarnath cave is accessible from two routes in Kashmir valley. The 46-kilometre Pahalgam-Holy cave trek is an ancient pilgrimage route which is covered in five days. There lies the ice lingam of Lord Shiva that is formed naturally, and waxes and wanes with the moon. The new 14 kilometre Baltal-Holy cave route is now preferred by the pilgrims since it is shorter, though steep, and can be covered in a day.
"This route (Leh-Kargil-Drass-Baltal) requires least facilities and pilgrims can start early in the morning from Drass and return back after performing Darshan at holy cave in the same evening provided, the traffic is managed proficiently at Zojila Pass. The route should be announced and advertised immediately. The entire track should be sanitised and security for pilgrims beefed up to avert any untoward incident," he said.
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