Outlook – July 20, 2019

by Naseer Ganai in Anantnag

C

hANdANwAri is a mountain

idyll ensconced amidst pine trees,

verdant meadows and gurgling

streams. however, as one of the

two base camps of the Amarnath

Yatra, it has been swarming with peo-

ple this month. More than a lakh pil-

grims have already visited the shrine.

Over 30,000 officials are on duty,

including 1,300 doctors and paramed-

ics. devotional music from loudspeak-

ers resounds in the meadows.

However, the festive mood here belies

the unrest brewing in the rest of the

Valley. Bunkers have sprouted along

the Srinagar- Qazigund highway and

the deployment of security forces has

increased manifold since the 45-day

yatra began on July 1. Barbed wires and

barricades are omnipresent. Early in

the morning, CRPF per-

sonnel inspect the road.

Later, the army’s road

opening party traverses

the highway with mine-

protected and bullet-

proof vehicles to detect

IEDs. Army commandos

in black fatigues keep

vigil. The Jammu and

Kashmir Police is also

ruary this year.

Anger is growing in the Valley over the

restrictions on civilian movement that

are impeding livelihood and daily activi-

ties. Tourism industry associations met

government officials and complained

that the restrictions were hampering

visitor inflow during the peak season.

The food industry is also affected as

perishables like fruits and vegetables

cannot be transported on time.

Governor Satya Pal Malik justified the

restrictions on civilians as a step to en-

sure the security of pilgrims. “In western

Uttar Pradesh, no vehicle plies on the

highway for a month during the Kanwar

yatra and no one complains. Here, traffic

is stopped for two hours and people raise

a hue and cry,” Malik said after visiting a

transit camp for pilgrims on the out-

skirts of Srinagar. He brushed aside the

criticism regarding the dip in tourism by

contending that many travellers were

vacationing in Gulmarg. Hoteliers in the

town, however, complain of a dip in

visitor arrivals.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah

says, “It’s not that we are unconcerned

about yatri security, far from it. It’s that

Governor Malik’s is the only administra-

tion in 30 years that closed down the

highway and railway line to protect

pilgrims. This is the height of incompe-

tence and laziness.”

In Srinagar, People’s United Front

(PUF), the political platform launched

by former IAS officer Shah Faesal, org-

anised a protest against the highway

closure and suspension of rail services.

“Who doesn’t know that more than

security agencies, it is Kashmiris who

make the yatra a success?” asks PUF

leader Engineer Rashid, who den ou-

nces the curbs as a gross violation of

fundamental rights. “By creating issues

just to defame Kashmiris and make

their life miserable, New Delhi is

exposing its colonial approach and

hatred towards people of the Valley. It

is unfortunate that the yatra is being

communalised for political gains and

New Delhi is endorsing the notion that

Kashmiris are anti-Hindu. Everybody,

including students, patients, govern-

ment employees and the business

community, is suffering. People feel

caged and jailed.” O

assisting the forces in security for

the pilgrimage.

On the Anantnag route to the base

camp in Pahalgam, the arterial KP road

is sealed when yatra convoys move.

Before they reach Anantnag, the CRPF

and police remove even the civilian

vehicles parked on the road. “It is

unseen and unheard of. We have been

welcoming pilgrims for decades, but

now we are being kept hostage during

the yatra,” says a shopkeeper at KP

road. The situation is similar at the

Sonamarg route to Baltal base camp.

The government’s order says that no

civilian traffic would be allowed on the

Srinagar-Jammu highway from Qazi-

gund to Nashri between 10 am and 3 pm

for the duration of the yatra. During

that time, train services on the Banihal-

Qazigund line will also be suspended.

While there have been militant attacks

during the Amarnath

Yatra in the early 2000s

and in 2017, this is the

first time the highway

has been shut for pilgrim

convoys. Autho rities say

the heightened security

is a measure to avoid a

repeat of the Pulwama

incident that killed 40

CRPF personnel in Feb-

Curbs on civilian traffic affect daily life in Kashmir

“This is the only

administration

in 30 years that

shut down the

highway and

trains,” says

Omar Abdullah.

Hostage to a Pilgrimage

no entry An officer stands guard

along the Jammu-Srinagar highway

amarnath yatra

22 July 2019 OutlOOk 15

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