Memorandum on Amarnath Yatra submitted to Sh. P. Chidambaram

Shri P. Chidambaram ji
Hon’ble Minister of Home Affairs
North Block
New Delhi 

Sir,

We wish to draw the attention of the Government to the extraordinary large number of deaths occurring this year during the Amarnath Yatra.

So far 97 pilgrims have died in the Yatra route, many of them as young as 22 years.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court has taken a suo moto  cognizance of this situation which is first time in the Yatra’s history which itself exposes grave lacunas in the management and organization of the Yatra, as old as 3 BC, as the  references to its occurrence prove  in our scriptures.

Even in the first 16 days of the commencement of the Yatra, 51 yatris were reported to have died on route.  This is a all time high record which the authorities, conducting the yatra this year, will not be very proud of.  One of the major factor behind such a high increase in mortality this year is the yatra duration has been squeezed drastically from the usual 60 days ( earlier it was for    120 days) to just 39 days.

The administration’s ostrich-like response has  forced the yatris to come with medical certificates! And what can medical certificates do when this year people in their 20s have died of cardiac arrest, including a presumably “acclimatized” Kashmiri porter and an Army jawan?

The target should be to reduce this unfortunate death rate.

We are sad to say that a systematic pattern is seen in the last few years to reduce the duration of the Amarnath Yatra. It is a historic yatra and has a religious and cultural significance to this country. It starts from Jammu with the conventional chadi and reaches the shrine on the Raksha Bandhan day.

The Kashmiri people provide all services for this. So, besides being a great religious event, it also generates a lot of economic activity in the valley not to say creating a communal amity and harmony.

Literary evidence indicates that in 1950s it used to last for about four months, and the number of people, who used to visit the shrine, was about 35 to 40 every day. But, it used to continue for four months. Thereafter, the Board, once it was constituted, organized a yatra for a period of 60 days. Now, from 60 days in 2009, each year, the number of days started reducing. In 2010, it became 55 days. In 2011, it became 45 days. This year, Amarnath Shrine Board, for reasons unknown, has brought it down to 39 days. The duration, from four months, came down to two months after the board was constituted, and now it is 39 days this year.

This has caused a lot of inconvenience to the pilgrims. Preferebly 10, 000 or as Nitish Sengupta had said that maximum not more than 20,000 people must visit the shrine on a given day; otherwise, it could have serious consequences. Now, Yatra period shrunk to 39 days already, the number has already gone upto 42, 000  having darshan per day.

The number of people is increasing every year, and, therefore, who are the people interested reducing the duration of this yatra? Certainly, they are not the pilgrims; not the Kashmiri people because they are also benefitting a lot from this yatra. They are, in fact, actively co-operating with this yatra. There is a very small section of separatists who have been issuing periodic threats on this. Efforts have been made between 2000 and 2006 to have attacks on this yatra. Some people lost their lives also. But now that the situation in the Kashmir Valley has substantially improved, there is no such danger either. Therefore, we would urge the Government, to consider this fact and, therefore, the duration of this yatra should be restored to what it was originally.

‘Sri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB)’ came into being in 2001, whose duties, rights and scope of activities were defined under the 'Jammu-Kashmir Sri Amarnathji Shrine Board Act, 2000’. In addition, the Hon’ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Mukherji Commission issued some directions pertaining to this Act. H.E. the Governor of the State was appointed the ex-officio Chairman of the Shrine Board. In its initial years the Shrine Board facilitated pilgrims remarkably. But, unfortunately, for the last some years the Shrine Board working under the stewardship of the present Governor of Jammu & Kashmir H.E. Sri Narendra Nath Vohra has disturbed the schedule of the Yatra  causing serious concerns amongst the Hindus and also deteriorating the sensitive atmosphere of Jammu & Kashmir. This year mishandling of the yatraa has proving so deadly that Hon.Supreme Court had to take suo moto cognizance of the situation  and order investigations.

In order to provide  facilities to  the Amarnath Pilgrims the Government of Jammu & Kashmir had made a provisional allotment of some plots of land in the Amarnath Yatra district which was also validated by the Hon'ble High Court. But intimidated by the conspiratorial hullabaloo and dust raised by the separatists in 2008, the present Governor made an unauthorized declaration of returning the said land to the Government. With this defeatist declaration and by transferring the responsibility of running this Yatra to the Government he had shown his lack of competence. At that time this declaration had not only fired emotions in the sensitive region of Jammu & Kashmir but also disappointed and frustrated the whole nation and the Hindus who forms 1/6^th of the global population.

Every year by raising an unwarranted controversy during Yatra duration including its flag- off and the completion dates, Shrine Board creates negative atmosphere instead of helping the yatris and making their pilgrimage a happy one. This atmosphere of uncertainty, artificially created by strange attitude of Shrine Board and the state government  is seen as putting  obstacles  for the Yatra  raising a question mark on the future of the Yatra.

If, commencing from the month of June every year, the annual Kailas Mansarovar Yatra  ( negotiationg arduous 22,000 ft. high altitude ) and the Kedarnath Yatra (12,000 ft. high altitude ) in challenging mountainous terrain can be  conducted for an unbroken period of long six months, why cannot the 13,500 ft. high altitude Amarnath Yatra run for 60 days commencing on Jyestha Purnima (June First Week) with finale on Shraavan Purnima (August/Raksha Bandhan Day)?

It is a matter of pride that inspite of  all difficulties , the number  of Yatris is increasing every year. Not more than 10000 yatris, and maximum, as an exception 20,000 yatris only can for darshan  be allowed to go per day. More than 8 lakh yatris were expected this year. It means at least 80 days were required to accommodate all the Yatris. But the Board was determined to run the yatra for 39 days only. It has  resulted in creating a havoc .

Various socio-religious organisations have been trying there best to draw the attention of concerned authorities from time to time. We have too, raised this important issue in Lok Sabha as well as in Rajya Sabha. But the Govt. of India ignored all such well intentioned advices which has resulted into an atrocious increase in the deaths of innocent yatris.

(v) Still worse, H.E. the Governor also appoints irreverent members on the Shrine Board panel that have no faith in Baba Amarnath and the Yatra. One member says this Yatra endangers environment and accelerates melting of  the glacier in the region. While the fact is there is no glacier there. By issuing such fallacious, misplaced and misleading statements they hurt Hindus insult their faith and question the very raison d’etre of the yatra .Yet another member of the Shrine Board questioned the scientific existence of Baba Amarnathji.

We, therefore, request to –

1. Use your good offices to ensure that H.E. the Governor of Jammu & Kashmir honours the Hindu sentiments regarding Sri Baba Amarnath Yatra;

2. Have reconstituted the Sri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) with inclusion of only those members that have Aasthaa (faith and reverence) in Baba Amarnath;

3. The Muhurt and duration of the Yatra should be determined as per the Hindu Astha and tradition, which speaks of the Yatra running throughout the year. Pt. Jawahar Lal Neharu wrote in his autobiography that he went in April to have the darshan whereas noted author Yashapal Jain wrote that he went in the month of September. The period of Chadi Yatra, which was started by Aadi Shankaracharya, is fixed but the Yatris can not be made to be squeezed in  a  period determined by state apparatus. So far as the question of vagaries of nature and weather is concerned, it is a well-known fact that in bad weather Yatra remains suspended awaiting conducive situation.

Every one knows that the yatra can be started at a much earlier date from Baltal route. But the Board itself has accepted that they will not allow  it apparently due to some pressures from a section of negetive elements of  Pahalgam. It means the Board can play with the lives of the yatris to appease some segments.

4. In case the weather goes rough there is no arrangement for the pilgrims to take shelter/cover. Therefore, at Pahalgam, Chandanvadi and Baltal proper, permanent and safe Yatra Houses a capacity to shelter 15-20 thousand yatris , equipped  with all basic amenities should be put up;

5.There is only one hospital on Amarnath yatra route  and that too  is a very inadequate. Atleast two hospitals  with a 200 bed capacities each may be set up at Baltal, Nunawar, and small hospitals at 4-5 other points on the Yatra routes;

6. As the hills and mountains at Tirupati and Mata Vaishno Devi have been designated as ‘Sacred Hills’ and ‘Sacred Mountains’, on similar lines the Amarnath Mount and the area surrounding it and also covering all possible conduits leading to it should be declared as Sacred Sri Amarnathji Area;

7.In the year 2003 Board had proposed that cable car could be operated on the yatra routes. This will solve many problems. But present office bearers of the Board have completely neglected this proposal for reasons best known to them.

8. The footfall on this Yatra routein the next 5 years may even register the 10 lakh number. Instead of the negative approach of putting a ceiling on the pilgrim traffic, a Master Plan should be put in place immediately to address the issues of putting up Permanent as well as makeshift Yatra Houses en route including adequate supply of power and water, widened and paved roads, big as well as small Hospitals, etc. This work schedule should be executed from now on. The cooperation of the society may also be taken in this work.

Hoping to have a positive response on these issues of national importance, concerning the safety and upholding the faith of pilgrims,

We are

Sincerely yours