Yatra Starts on Ashnad Purnima and Ends on Shravan Purnima
SRINAGAR: Activists who had been campaigning for the curtailment of Amarnath yatra duration, got a shot in the arm when, on Monday, Mahant Dipendra Giri said the time limit of the pilgrimage to the cave starts on Ashnad Purnima and ends on Shravan Purnima.
“It is July 22 today and as per the Hindu mythology, it is Ashand Purnima and the yatra should start from today. I don’t know why the yatra commences before this date,” Giri told reporters on the Boomi Puja occasion in Srinagar.
He said global warming was only one of the reasons behind the Shivlingam meltdown. “Once you start the yatra before its due date, this thing is bound to happen. Everything has its own time and I appeal the government to review its decision and curtail the period of Amarnath Yatra,” said Mahant Giri, Pilgrims return disappointed without having a glimpse of Shivlingam.
Authorities should ponder over the timing of the yatra as it might take toll on the environment, said the priest.
In the wee morning hours on Monday, Sadhus took the Chhadi Mubarak from Srinagar to Pahalgam for the holy pilgrimage, but before the takeoff, the mahant of Dakshani Akhara, Srinagar, Dipendra Giri, voiced his concern over the protracted yatra duration.
Every year on Ashnad Purnima Chhadi Mubarak is taken from Srinagar to Pahalgam for the holy journey and this is when, in the past, the yatra to the holy cave would commence..
This is the day when the yatra should begin, as it used to be in the past, reiterated Giri before setting out on the pilgrimage.
The Amarnath yatra began on June 29 this year and will end on August 21 a duration of nearly eight weeks.
To begin the yatra early will always backfire as has been happening for some time now in the form of the melting of Shivlingam, said Giri, The lingam has already melted and the blame must be taken by the authorities for starting the yatra before Ashnad Purnima.
Meanwhile, the yatra, which was suspended on July 19, resumed on Sunday afternoon amid tight security arrangements. A convoy of forty nine vehicles, carrying a batch of 1,099 devotees, left the base camp, Jammu, to pay obeisance to Lord Shiva at the cave shrine.
Over 2.55 lakh pilgrims took part in this years yatra to perform the darshan of the naturally-formed ice lingam of Lord Shiva but a large number of them were deprived of the glimpse as the lingam had melted completely in the middle of the yatra.
Officials and eyewitnesses reported last week that the Shivlingam had completely melted. Even before the beginning of the annual pilgrimage, almost 40 percent of the lingam had melted away.
Many environmentalists, social activists and separatist leaders have been warning the state from time to time of the possible environmental disaster that the prolonged yatra duration resulting in massive influx of people into the ecologically fragile mountain ranges could cause in the Valley.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
