More Safety Features for Amarnath Pilgrims

European Pressphoto Agency/European Pressphoto AgencyPilgrims being carried on palanquins to the Amarnath shrine in Jammu and Kashmir state, in this June 25, 2012 file photo.  

Alarmed by the number of Hindu pilgrims who die each year while visiting the holy Shri Amarnath cave in the Himalayas, India's Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the Jammu and Kashmir government and the shrine's administrator to improve road safety and provide basic facilities like medical shelters.

The Shri Amarnath cave, located 12,000 feet above sea level in Lidder Valley in Indian-administered Kashmir, is visited b y hundreds of thousands of pilgrims every year in the months of July and August. The cave, which was discovered by a Muslim shepherd in the late 1700s according to legend, holds a stalagmite of ice considered to be the symbol of Shiva, one of the most revered gods in the Hindu religion.

This year, 93 people died on the way to the holy cave, according to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, which administers the shrine.

The paths - one is 19 miles long and the other 27 miles - are narrow and slippery and lack rails or a support wall, and many pilgrims fall to their deaths into the valley.

Many others die from health problems or from exposure when the weather suddenly changes. Medical facilities are nonexistent.

The risks haven't deterred pilgrims from hiking to the shrine; in fact, their numbers have shot up in the past decade â€" from more than 100,000 pilgrims in 2002 to about 620,000 in 2012.

In 2008, the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, a government-appointed body, was given 99 acres of forest land to create prefabricated structures to provide facilities to Hindu pilgrims and officials. Kashmiri Muslims held demonstrations to protest the transfer of land, and at least 40 people died in the ensuing violence in Jammu and Kashmir. The issue has completely divided the state along religious lines.

In its order, the court gave the government and the shrine board detailed directions to widen the tracks and add nonslip tiles, support railings and retaining walls. The court also directed the authorities to create medical facilities and sewage treatment plants and come up with a public safety awareness campaign for pilgrims.

“I t will provide a fair opportunity to the pilgrims to complete their yatra to the holy cave with human dignity, safety to their lives and with basic amenities being provided to them,” the court said.