Ice 'Shivalingam' formed at Amarnath cave

Srinagar, Jun 10: The ice 'Shivalingam (phallic symbol of LordShiva)' at the holy cave shrine of Amarnath has formed fully till now,according to an official statement.

Subject to the weather conditions, the annual two-month-longpilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir wouldcommence simultaneously from both traditional Pahalgam and shorterBaltal routes on June 30 to end on August 28.

The statement comes in the wake of a religious controversy overthe alleged tampering with the 'ice-lingam' at the holy cave shrinelast year which forced the authorities to order a judicial inquiry intothe matter and also resulted in the resignation of a senior member fromthe Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, headed by Jammu and Kashmir GovernorLt Gen (Retd) S K Sinha.

Mahant Deependra Giri, the custodian of Charri-Mubarak SwamiAmarnath (holy mace of Lord Shiva), had resigned from the SASB onSeptember 15 last year following the controversy.

A public interest litigation was also filed in the Jammu andKashmir High Court, seeking directions against the Board for allegedlyraising an artificial ice 'Shivalingam' at the holy cave.

The one-man judicial commission of Justice (Retd) K K Gupta latergave a clean chit to the Board and absolved it of all the charges.

The High Court later dismissed for want of evidence the writpetition with the directions to the SASB to take all necessary measuresto protect and safeguard the 'Shivalingam'.

Gen Sinha paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine yesterday andalso saw the arrangements made for smooth conduct of the pilgrimage viaboth the routes this year.

The Governor gave instructions to the Board officials for ensuringvarious facilities and made it emphatically clear that adequate stepsshould be taken for preserving the environment.

The SASB has made elaborate arrangements at all halting camps and various points on both the tracks.

The Governor hoped that the number of pilgrims in 2007 would touchthe figures of previous years. He called for greater synergy betweenvarious agencies for ensuring smooth pilgrimage.

The hospitality of the people of Kashmir has been the hallmark of the Amarnath pilgrimage, Gen Sinha added.

UNI