Tulmulla: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said that the state government will not allow anyone to proceed towards the holy
cave shrine of Amarnath before the official commencement of the annual pilgrimage on June 29.
"We will do whatever is needed to be done. We have given June 29 as the date for yatra. We will not be able to allow anyone before that," Omar told reporters here, 27 kms from Srinagar, after visiting the Kheer Bhawani temple.
The Chief Minister was responding to a question about the VHP plans of starting the Amarnath yatra from June 15 instead of June 29 as announced by Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), which regulated the annual pilgrimage. The yatra will culminate on August 13.
Omar said he would not like to go into the issue of VHP's plans but asserted that stretches of the track to the 3880-metre high cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas were still covered by snow.
"According to the information I have, Mahagunus top is still closed. We will try our level best that the yatra starts from the scheduled date for its smooth conduct," he said.
The Chief Minister said all the security and administrative measures have been put in place for the annual pilgrimage.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, June 09, 2011, 18:29