SRINAGAR, June 28: Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha Monday paid his obeisance at the Holy Cave shrine of Shri Amarnathji in south Kashmir.
The Lt Governor, who is also the Chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, accompanied by the senior officers from Army, Civil administration, Police and the Shrine Board, performed puja at the shrine.
“May the divine blessings of Lord Shiva ensure good health and happiness in everyone’s life and bless us with strength to overcome the ongoing health crisis”, prayed the Lt Governor.
The annual pilgrimage testifies to the tradition of the wonderful cultural syncretism of Jammu and Kashmir.
Considering the ongoing situation due to Covid-19 pandemic, Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra has been cancelled for the second consecutive year.
However, respecting the sentiments of the devotees, the Shrine Board has arranged live telecast of the morning and evening Aarti from the Holy Cave shrine, besides all the traditional religious rituals shall be performed at the Holy Cave Shrine as per past practice, the Lt Governor said.
An official handout said that the J&K government has taken a slew of measures to reduce the spread of infection and every arrangement has been made to ensure that the Covid Appropriate Behaviour is being followed during Aarti and other rituals.
The devotees can pay their virtual obeisance to the Holy Ice Lingam online through the Shrine Board’s link www.shriamarnathjishrine.com/AartiLive.html. The same may also be streamed through the Shrine Board’s mobile based application which may be downloaded through the link http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ncog.shriamarnath from the Google play store.
The Lt Governor was accompanied by Lt Gen DP Pandey, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 15 Corps; Pandurang K Pole, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir; Dr Piyush Singla, Deputy Commissioner Anantnag; Abdul Jabbar, DIG South Kashmir Range (SKR); Anup Kumar Soni, Additional Chief Executive Officer, SASB besides officers of Army, Police, CRPF & Shrine Board.