Amarnath Yatra cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic: J&K govt

The Liueutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha announced that the annual Amarnath pilgrimage will not take place this year due to the coronavirus outbreakA detailed discussion was held with the members of the shrine board on the present Covid19 situation before the decisionLt Governor Manoj Sinha who is also Chairman of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board held deliberations with Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta DGP Dilbag Singh Principal Secretary Home Shaleen Kabra and Principal Secretary to Lt Governor Nitishwar Kumar who is also the CEO of Shrine BoardJampK Govt has decided to cancel Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra all the traditional religious rituals to be performed at the Holy Cave Shrine as per past practice Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Boardmdash ANI ANI June 21 2021Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board says it will arrange online darshan for devotees worldwide file photo pictwittercomRA3RfTSmjMmdash ANI ANI June 21 2021The yatra stood cancelled last year tooHowever online darshan will be facilitated for devotees worldwide and all rituals will take place in the holy cave shrine in South Kashmirrsquos Anantnag district as per practiceIt is important to save peoples lives So it is not advisable to hold and conduct this years pilgrimage in the larger public interest Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board is aware of and respect the sentiments of millions of devotees and to keep the sentiments alive the Board shall continue the live telecast of morning and evening aarti from the Holy Cave shrine the Lt Governor saidShri Amarnathji Shrine Board has been assessing the Covid19 situation in the Union Territory and the country Our focus is on containing the pandemic and strengthening health infrastructure the shrine CEO saidNitishwar Kumar said that both morning telecast of aarti at 6 am and evening aarti at 5 pm each for 30 minutes is to be livestreamed on the shrine boards website and the app specifically dedicated for the devoteesThe devotees can pay their virtual obeisance to the holy ice Lingam online through the shrine boards link wwwshriamarnathjishrinecomAartiLivehtml The same may also be streamed through the its mobile app which may be downloaded through the link httpplaygooglecomstoreappsdetailsidcomncogshriamarnath from the Google Play StoreThe 56day pilgrimage to the 3880metrehigh shrine was scheduled to start from the twin routes of Pahalgam and Baltal from June 28 and culminate on August 28The registration for the yatra started on April 1 but was put on hold from April 22 due to the pandemic