Srinagar
National Green Tribunal (NGT) has declared the Amarnath cave as a “silence zone” and prohibited religious offerings beyond its entry point.
In an order issued by the bench headed by its chairman Justice Swatanter Kumar, it is said that declaring the area around the Amarnath cave a “silence zone” would be helpful in preventing avalanches and maintaining its pristine nature.
However, the bench also asked the shrine board to ensure that proper infrastructural facilities were provided to the pilgrims, so that they were not deprived of a clear “darshan” and that the ecology of the area was maintained.
Reacting to the order of declaring the Amarnath cave a “silence zone”, former chief minister and working president of National Conference Omar Abdullah tweeted “It’s probably just me but I don’t understand how chanting outside the holy cave while on pilgrimage to Amarnath ji damages the environment”
Meanwhile Vishnu Hindu Parishad has termed the order a “Tughlaki fatwa” and said Hindus were not responsible for every ecological problem on earth.
