Amarnath Yatra resumes after 4 days, no missing yatri tracked with RFID cards

After apause of four days, Amarnath Yatra has started via both routes, Pahalgam and Sonmarg. A cloud burst had triggered a flash flood that resulted in death of 16 pilgrims. Many are still missing. Amarnath Shrine Board has not shared any data about missing yatris. Indian Air Force has said that 80 per cent of the rescue operation is over.

Officials say that the rescue operation is being carried out at the flash flood site as well as the river flowing from Amarnath cave to Baltal base camp. Although the authorities say that there are very slim chances of finding any survivors.

“I think a major effort has already gone through. They have already cleared the opening of the yatra again. We think in a day or two we will be able to clear the area for anything else," said Air Commodore Pankaj Mittal, air force station, Srinagar.

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More than 30 people are feared to be missing and trapped under the debris that came along with the flash floods in the area. So far, the authorities with Amarnath Shrine Board have not released any details about the missing people.

Earlier, camping within 5 kilometres of the Amarnath Cave was prohibitted. But last few years have seen tents and community kitchens being permitted close to the Amarnath Cave.

Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir has called for a probe into this.

“We hope the government will explain what happened and how, and a commission would be set up to investigate. Why were the tents put up at such risky places? It should be investigated? The question is that so far, I don't think the tents were ever placed at the location before this. It is the for the first time. It should be investigated, and It can be a human error," said Farooq Abdullah, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

The questions are also raised with regard to the failure of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags for Yatris. The government and Shrine board had claimed that every Yatri taking the pilgrimage would be tracked all through the routes with the help of technology and these RFID cards. But reports are that they have not found a single missing Yatri with the help of these RFID cards. However, the Indian army was seen using sniffer dogs, high tech radars and avalanche trans-receivers to look for the bodies under the rubble.

Authorities have not so far released details about the missing people at the site of the flsh flood. This has caused concern among the people.

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