Chief Minister Omar Abdullah  last week  summoned  courage to take on the separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani  on the   issue of the  fictionalised road to Amarnath  shrine in Kashmir.   Omar, it seems, has changed  his mind about the separatists for a while, the political compulsions  have guided him to do so.   Political compulsions  are obvious.  He doesn’t want  any  trouble  at this stage when he is being complimented for   having seized the initiative of  turning tables on the traditional trouble makers. It is no denying the fact that the two years – 2011 and 2012 were unthinkable in 2010 or 2009 or 2008. Whosoever may claim the credit for that, but the fact of the matter is that Omar Abdullah, himself, and his government, particularly the state police had lot to contribute  in turning the corner that brought relative peace, tourists and generated a lot of economic activity in the Kashmir Valley.
Omar,  who is set to face Assembly elections in 2014, if not earlier than that, knows that he has very  limited time at his disposal -  26 months to be precise-  to show the results, peace and  boom in tourism are something that he can count at  the time of polls. Any disturbance  at the  scale, or close to that of 2008 or 2010 would put the things in  torn days of 2008 and 2010. That is weighing on his mind. Hence, the offer to Geelani  to use the state helicopter and a photographer of separatist leader’s choice  to do a reality check of the tracks leading to Shri Amarnathji cave shrine. “ Not even a single  yard of the track has been macadamised  nor is there any proposal to do so”.  He also posed a question to Geelani, ‘ has he read the  report. The word road  has not been used anywhere in the report of the Supreme Court, prepared in the light of the directions  of the Supreme Court.
 Separatists politicized  the Amarnath pilgrimage  after  them `mainstream'  politicians did it. First it was Peoples Democratic Party  and its leaders who played  the game without realising the consequences. It were PDP ministers who had  stamped on   the approval for the diversion of 100 acres of land at Baltal and Sangam in early 2008, complying with the then Congress Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.  The  then Chief Minister, who is a proficient  political chess player   was hoping for the rich dividends in the 2008 Assembly elections  and live upto his word that he would stay in the  state politics for decades together. National Conference  leaders were not far behind.  Omar Abdullah also  added fuel to fire, when on July  22, 2008, he  said that not even a single inch of land would be  conceded.
That time , he was in Opposition, so he could afford any set of  posture, because he  had no accountability toward any one. Hope he, remembers that one of the major questions that he used to ask:  “ What happened to Rs. 24,000 crore  that Prime Minister  Manmohan Singh  allocated under Prime Minister’s Reconstruction  Plan”, better known as PMRP. Since January 5, 2009, this  question  has not been heard from him. This is the difference being in the Opposition and the Government.
Coming back to Shri Amarnath pilgrimage, it should be  acknowledged that this pilgrimage is pilgrimage like other pilgrimages.  And the record of the 150 years or more that of the at the yatra, not a single  pilgrim has settled there. Leave aside the pilgrims, the Indian army that is guarding the frontiers   at the height of  18,000 ft. and above,  pack up their camps once the yatra is over. Who would stay in the freezing temperatures.
Now comes the issue of  environment.  There are two points. One, the litter that pilgrims spread  while undertaking the pilgrimage, and the second is the fragile ecology of the area, which  gets disturbed by the heavy movement of pilgrims, security forces, state police and others during the pilgrimages. Some of the glaciers that feed river of Kashmir  form part of the pilgrimage  route.  These environmental issues need to be taken care of. Although Shri  Amarnath Shrine Bard  and the state government have taken certain steps, but more needs to be done. It is in the same category of importance as is the life of pilgrim undertaking the yatra.
It would be  interesting to note  that what steps would be taken in 2013. Let’s not visit the past, thee should be  future looking measures.

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Lastupdate on : Mon, 22 Oct 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 22 Oct 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 23 Oct 2012 00:00:00 IST