The Hindu : National : J&K appeals against order on Amarnath yatra

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Wednesday, May 04, 2005

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J&K appeals against order on Amarnath yatra

Staff Reporter

"Is the board competent to perform?"

JAMMU: The State Government has filed an appeal against the Jammu and Kashmir High Court order vesting with the Amarnath Yatra Shrine Board powers to conduct the annual pilgrimage. A single judge on April 15said the board would be the sole authority to conduct the pilgrimage and the Government had no power to interfere in its functioning.

The Additional Advocate-General, Anil Sethi, said the pivotal question was whether the board was competent to perform all pilgrimage functions.

The Government said the board's jurisdiction was restricted to the land on which the shrine is situated and a surrounding area. Allowing all pilgrims to come on a particular date could result in a catastrophe. The court direction ran contrary to the spirit of the Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Act and the reports of expert committees on arrangements for the Amarnath yatra after the 1996 tragedy, in which many pilgrims died.

Justice Promod Kohli held that government agencies could not interfere in the functioning of the board and its decisions for the smooth conduct of the yatra. He directed the State and the Central Governments to provide security to pilgrims as a constitutional obligation.

The direction came on a petition by the Punjab Shiv Sewa Samiti president, who said his organisation was aggrieved by certain decisions/actions taken by the State Government.

Crisis last year

Last year Governor S.K. Sinha, as chairman of the board, decided to extend the month-long yatra by a month to meet the pilgrim influx. But Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed publicly said that for security reasons, the duration could not be increased to more than a month.

Protesting against his decision not to accept the Governor's recommendation, five Congress Ministers resigned. The party's central leadership intervened and an agreement was reached to extend the yatra to 45 days.

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