Srinagar, June 18, 2021 (PPI-OT):While authorities are yet to take a final decision over the annual Amarnath pilgrimage in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has started granting permissions for setting up langars (a communal free kitchen). According to Kashmir Media Service, the permission has been granted to Langar Organisations at Baltal in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district from June 28 to August 22. Significantly, it is the same duration for which the SASB had earlier proposed to hold annual pilgrimage before the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic forced it to suspend the registration of pilgrims on April 22.

By granting permission to the Langar organization, the SASB has given an indication that the annual pilgrimage to the 3888-metre-high Amarnathji cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas could be held though with a limited number of yatris. Last year, the pilgrimage was cancelled on July 21 because of the rise in Covid-19 cases, while in 2019, the pilgrimage was curtailed ahead of the scrapping of J and K’s special status under Article 370 as the erstwhile state was locked down and a communications blackout was imposed.

For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: +92-51-4435548, +92-51-4435549
Fax: +92-51-4861736
Email: info@kmsnews.org
Website: www.kmsnews.org