Amarnath cave road connectivity project kicks-up row, politicians say environmental disaster in making

The recently built motorable road leading to Amarnath Cave in Kashmir Valley has come under immense criticism from regional political parties who have deemed it an environmental disaster.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah slammed the government for letting construction activity take place in ecologically sensitive areas.

''It's the case of the environment. The courts have always given decisions in favour of saving green belts across the valley. No one is allowed to constructanything around Dal Lake, people living in Dal are not even allowed to repair their houseboats. People in Pahalgam and Gulmarg are not allowed to repair theirhouses. Same way in Sonamarg, so many constructions have been stopped due to environmental factors. If we have been saving Dal Lake, Gulmarg, Pahalgam then we need to save the Amarnath Cave as well, '' he said.

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He further said, ''It is our responsibility to save the environment. The yatra has been going on for years, why do we need to take the vehicles to the cave.The main motiveof the yatra is to walk till the cave. When we go for Hajj, we do it on foot. Same way, when Hindus go to Mata Vaishno Devi. We need to rethink the decision as taking vehicles to these areas will be disastrous. The Amarnath yatra is always welcome but thegovernment can't play with the environment like this, ''

Earlier, the Border Roads Organisation said that they created history after the first set of vehicles reached the Amarnath cave at an altitude of 13,000 feet in the Himalayan range of Kashmir Valley. The BRO said that around 13 km of road has been completed from the Sangam base to the cave shrine.

Earlier, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari announced that the construction of the 110-km-long Amarnath Marg leading to the holy Amarnath cave shrine in Pahalgam came at a cost of approximately Rs 53 billion ($636 million approx.) to enhance the convenience of pilgrims.

Not only politicians but Kashmir Pandit community have also criticised the move of the government saying it will destroy the environment.

Mohit Bhan in a post on X said, “After seeing the wrath of God in Joshimath & Kedarnath, LG administration is not learning any lesson, instead inviting a new catastrophe in Kashmir around Amarnath Cave.”

''No one is against the Yatra, it's an example of brotherhood in the valley but the way they have started a motorable road till the cave will lead to an environmentaldisaster. We have examples of Kedarnath, Joshimath and Himachal in front of us. The numbers have been increased which as well has affected the formation of shivling. Within 10 days the shivling disappears due to the number of pilgrims allowed. Yatra has to be done while walking to the cave, that is the main way of doing it. The political parties are using it for political gains, '' said Mohit Bhat, PDP Leader.

The government plans to operationalise the motorable road by next year.