he Omar Abdullah government of Jammu and Kashmir has asked the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) to reduce the number of pilgrims visiting the holy Amarnath cave for this year's yatra. Around 7.5 lakh people undertook the two-month-long pilgrimage that started toward the end of June last year. The Omar government has also rejected a move by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to widen the Khanabal-Panjtarni road on the way to the Amarnath shrine and declare it as a National Highway. These moves may lead to a direct confrontation between the new Central government led by Narendra Modi and Omar Abdullah, who is smarting from a defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.

The recommendation has come from the J&K Forest Department, citing environmental concerns, said highly placed sources in the government. "Heavy footfall and direct disposal of solid waste into the waters of Lidder and Sindh rivers have resulted in an alarming situation, including the outbreak of water-borne diseases," a senior Forest Department officer told this newspaper. The department has given reasons like saving glaciers and the forest cover.

Sources also said that earlier the district administration of Ganderbal communicated to the J&K government that the route to Amarnath could do with less human traffic and also expressed concern about the solid waste going into the Sindh. Sources said that the deputy commissioner of Ganderbal suggested erecting fences along the river to save it from littering at Baltal and other adjacent areas. Similar communication has come from the district administration of Anantnag.

It is in place to mention here that in the summer of 2012, the Supreme Court constituted a committee to give its recommendations to the J&K government on the measures to be implemented for the safety of Amarnath pilgrims. The committee recommended the widening of roads at different places on the way to the Amarnath cave in order to minimise pilgrim deaths from accidents. The J&K Forest Department opposed this, saying it will be detrimental for the "fragile eco-system" and a threat to "wildlife sanctuaries".

After Omar government's opposition to the widening of the Khanabal-Panjtarni road, Union Transport Secretary Vijay Chhibber has written to the J&K Chief Secretary Muhammad Iqbal Khanday asking the state to reconsider its decision. From Panjtarni, the road passes through Chandanwari, Pahalgam, Batakoot, and Martand before reaching Khannabal. The J&K government had said that the road should not be turned into a National Highway because it passes through the forests of Pahalgam and will disrupt the fragile ecosystem of the area.