Shree Vaishnodevi Yatradham Board and Shree Amarnath Yatra Board were the best examples of how efficient autonomous bodies under government control could be. Shri Amarnath Yatradham Board was formed after the formation of Sri Vaishno Devi Mata Yatradham Board. The formation of Sri Vaishno Devi Yatradham Board was the brainchild of the then Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Jagmohan and became a model for managing a Yatradham until last year, that is until the accident.
The Sri Vaishnodevi Yatradham Board was formed in the mid-1990s during Jagmohan’s rule as Governor. Before that there were widespread complaints of mismanagement and chaos in the management of this yatra. Shri Amarnath Yatra Board was formed by the then Chief Minister Dr. By Farooq Abdullah’s government in AD It happened in the year 2000. Both these boards have been in the news recently for the wrong reasons. The brittle Himalayan range in the last six months has caused a man-made / natural calamity and should be taken as a wake-up call by the central government and state administrations. But apart from the trip of dignitaries, there is no formal arrangement every year.
Dt. On the night of December 31, 2021, an uncontrollable rush of pilgrims left 12 dead and several injured, but the video of the incident clearly shows the severity of the mismanagement and wastage. A three-member inquiry committee headed by the then Chief Secretary Shaleen Kabra was formed and was to report within a week. More than six months today: Where is Hawal? Has the scandal been swept under the carpet to hide the mismanagement that caused the run? By now, someone had to sit at home.
This was obviously a man-made accident and someone should be held accountable to prevent it from happening again. The disaster of Shri Amarnath Yatradham is due to cloudburst / excessive localized rain, but it is not clear yet, but humans are also very much responsible for that. Why were the tents allowed to be built if the rushing flow of water continued from the upper house? The same thing happened last year too, but luckily there was no loss of life as the Yatra was stopped due to Kovid-19. The jawans on duty there narrowly escaped.
The report of Vaishnodevi accident has not yet come, but even the Union Territory administration has not ordered an inquiry into the Amarnath accident. If this continues, why will the pilgrims have faith? What is going to come from blowing the bubbles that the number of pilgrims coming for both the Yatras has increased? If the pilgrims are protected and the environment is protected, the faith of the devotees will increase. Protecting these pilgrimage sites, which are becoming extremely sensitive for the faithful, as well as the fragile natural environment – both are interrelated. Therefore, the security of these pilgrimage centers should not be left to the authorities alone.
In fact the security of these pilgrimages and the protection of the environment are interdependent and experts, especially environmentalists have a major role to play in the management and planning of these pilgrimages and the role of security experts is different. The peak of Amarnath is part of the Himalayan range and has the Zojillaghat on one side and the Machoi Hit river on the other. In this context the occurrence of cloudburst/excessive rainfall over the last few years should be considered as a warning sign.
Similarly, as the number of pilgrims to Sri Vaishnodevi Yatradham increases every year, the pressure on its Trikuta mountain increases. Thus, all these factors should be taken into consideration with respect to the situation and environment in the area. Accordingly, if more roads and buildings continue to be built, the problem will increase in the coming years. Chanting of increasing number of pilgrims every year will not show any sign of success. The safety of the pilgrims and preservation of the environment will be critical to success. Otherwise one has to be prepared for more such incidents in future.
– The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.
