A first, Amarnath Yatra cancelled

Arun Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 21

For the first time in 150 years, the annual Amarnath Yatra in Kashmir has been cancelled in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

After a meeting of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, chaired by Lieutenant Governor GC Murmu and attended by UT administration officers, the announcement to cancel the yatra was made this evening, a fortnight ahead of the scheduled conclusion of the yatra on August 3.

The board deliberated upon the prevailing Covid situation in J&K and the risks involved in its conduct even at such a late stage. Considering that more than 260 persons had died and 14,000 had been infected in the UT, it was decided that conduct of the yatra would be a high-risk affair.

As such, the devotees can watch “live aarti” from the cave shrine, devoted to Lord Shiva, on the television. The “Charri Mubarak” (holy mace) may be airlifted to the shrine on August 3 (Raksha Bandhan day), marking the conclusion of the yatra.

An official release said “it is not advisable to conduct this year’s Shri Amarnathji Yatra”.

The board and government officials held “threadbare discussion on the current pandemic situation and its likely impact on the yatra”. The meeting discussed various Supreme Court and High Court rulings on the yatra.

It was claimed the arrangements had been on track since February, but the nationwide lockdown had forced the closure of religious places and places of worship in the UT. The prohibitions continue till July 31.

The government admitted: “The pandemic has put the health administration system to its limit. The spike has been particularly sharp in July. Health workers and security forces are also getting infected and the focus of entire medical, civil and police administration at the moment is on containing the local transmission of Covid-19. The health concerns are so serious that the strain on the health system, along with the diversion in resources to the yatra will be immense. This would also unnecessarily put the yatris at risk.”