Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh on Thursday ruled out any reduction in the duration of the two-month-long Amarnath Yatra and suggested that the pilgrimage could, in fact, be continued throughout the year.
“The issue has been unduly politicised. We have substantial geological survey and other scientific reports which suggest that the Amarnath Yatra can be held throughout the year,” Mr. Singh said at a press conference in Srinagar.
There have been environmental concerns over the duration of the pilgrimage and the unchecked number of devotees undertaking the arduous trek to the Amarnath cave, but Mr. Singh dismissed them as “unduly political.”
He linked the recent attacks on telecom services in the Valley to the Amarnath Yatra and blamed the Valley’s separatist leaders.
