CEO misquoted on Amarnath yatra

Srinagar, Sep 18: The Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) today clarified that its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Arun Kumar has been wrongly quoted as saying that the Board was contemplating to have a round-the-year Amarnath pilgrimage.

An SASB spokesman reacting to a statement made by Mahant Deependra Giri, the custodian of the holy mace of Lord Shiva, quoting newspaper reports in this regard wondered how the pilgrimage could be conducted for 365 days given the topography and weather conditions in the Himalayan region.

''In fact sometime back, Dr Kumar in an interview in Delhi had stated that the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage emerged from a few days yatra during Navratras to 365 days round-the-clock,'' he said, adding that the statement was presented in a wrong context by a section of the media.

About the duration of the Amarnath pilgrimage, which the Mahant has reportedly stated as one of the reasons for quitting the SASB, the spokesman said he has been a party to the decision for holding two-month yatra this year, as also during the past two years.

Mahant Giri had announced his resignation from the SASB on September 15 in protest against the board's decision to extend the duration of the Amarnath pilgrimage throughout the year.

He had claimed that the requisitions for this has already been sent to DRDO and IIT, Delhi for expert services regarding refrigeration of 'Himlingam (ice lingam)'.

''I disassociate myself from this decision. I consider it an act against the age-old tradition and the sanctity of the yatra which is being held in the month of Shravan (July-August) for centuries,'' the Mahant had said.

UNI