The holy pilgrimage of Amarnath shrine is one of the most sacred places for Hindus to visit. This year, this yatra was disturbed because of the disturbing peace situations in the Kashmir valley. As soon as the Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani was killed by the Indian Army, the valley went into unrest and a lot of protests and strikes have overtaken the area. The situation resulted in a curfew for four continues days and thus, the Amarnath Shrine yatra was also paused for an undue time. Now, the yatra has resumed and after facing trouble for few days, the pilgrims from Rajasthan which were stranded at the various places of the valley have started returning home after completion of the tour.
There were more than 700 pilgrims from the state who were abandoned in Jammu and Kashmir. All of them are reported safe and returning back, though some with wounds of stones which were pelted on them during the agitation against the killing of the terrorist.
The state government took quick preventive measures after the death of one of the pilgrims from Alwar district that died of cardiac arrest en route to the holy cave of shrine. They set up a control room on Monday and also released two helpline numbers of its Jaipur Office. The name of the deceased was Surendra Dutt Vyas, 65, a resident of Keshav Nagar in Alwar. He complained about a breathing problem due to lack of oxygen on such high altitudes and resultantly died on the way between Chandanwari and Sheshnag. The doctors at the Pahalgam hospital confirmed his death to his family members accompanying him.
Immediate steps were taken by the state government by appointing one of its teams, headed by Additional Director-General, Disaster Response Force, B.L. Soni, proceeding to Srinagar, right after the Amarnath yatra resumed. The Chief Secretary O.P. Meena also called the office in Jammu and Kashmir to ensure the safe return of pilgrims. There are also reports that the J&K Government has given the permission to the pilgrims t go ahead with the yatra who is willing to complete the journey.
