Once out of bounds for vehicular traffic, the Amarnath shrine located at an altitude of 13,000 feet has seen the first-ever movement of four-wheelers since its discovery by a Muslim shepherd, Buta Malik, in 1850.
“The Border Roads personnel completed the formidable task and created history with the first set of vehicles reaching the holy cave,” a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) spokesman said in a post on X.
The BRO’s Project Beacon is involved in the restoration and improvement of Amarnath Yatra tracks.
Officials said the vehicles reached the cave shrine from the Baltal area in central Kashmir’s Sonamarg. The Baltal route is the shortest path, with 14 km of trek, compared to 20 km on the Pahalgam axis in south Kashmir’s Anantnag, to reach the cave shrine.
The twin arduous routes, where pilgrims scale an altitude of 13,000 feet on foot through the picturesque tourist spots of Pahalgam and Sonamarg, were handed over to the BRO by the Centre after abrogation of provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution in 2019. The BRO is tasked with widening and railing of the tracks.
Prior to 2019, the Jammu and Kashmir government’s Public Works Department was maintaining the Baltal-shrine passage in Ganderbal district and the Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA) was maintaining the Pahalgam-shrine route in Anantnag district.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari announced a road project to the Amarnath shrine in Pahalgam earlier this year. It was sanctioned after a formal requisition by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to the Centre. A 110 km-long Amarnath Marg, leading to the holy Amarnath cave, will come up at a cost of around ₹5,300 crore for the convenience of the pilgrims.
Tens of thousands of pilgrims from across the country visit Kashmir to pay obeisance at the cave shrine every year. The road is likely to open up access to the shrines for pilgrimage round the year.
Though in 2011, the Amarnath Shrine Board had constituted a committee, headed by spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, on setting a time frame for the pilgrimage, it had suggested that the yatra should be thrown open only after the status of snow melt in April-May is gauged. The yatra usually culminates on the festival of Raksha Bandhan every year. The Committee also put an upper limit on the number of pilgrims visiting the cave shrine on a day up to 16,000.
PDP criticises move
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the BRO’s move has prompted concerns over the reckless urbanisation of religious sites for political mileage, disregarding the ecological impact and the sacred ethos of Hindu pilgrimage.
“This is not history; it’s the biggest crime one can commit to Hinduism and its faith in nature. Hinduism is all about immersing in spiritual mother nature; that’s why our pilgrimages are in the lap of Himalayas. Turning religious pilgrimages into picnic spots for mere political gains is worthy of condemnation. We have seen the wrath of God in Joshimath, Kedarnath and yet we are learning no lessons, instead inviting a catastrophe in Kashmir,” PDP spokesperson Mohit Bhan said.
Mr. Bhan has urged the government to look for a more balanced and sustainable strategy that aligns with the essence of spiritual reverence and ecological preservation.
