Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 22: The Asthapan Navdal Tirath Committee (ANTC) an affiliate of Temples and Shrines Committee Tral Awantipur in an appeal to Lt Governor of the J&K UT, Manoj Sinha has appealed him to allow one Jatha of Navdal Tirath to visit the holy Amaranth cave as a special case as the shrine is linked with the yatra of Shri Amaranth Ji from times immemorial.
In a statement issued here, today the president of the Committee Chuni Lal Bhat and its senior member, Dr Ramesh Bhat said the traditional yatra has been taken by our forefathers in extreme difficult conditions of war, famine and even in the worst times of Aurangzeb when a Panchayat of Kashmiri Pandits was held under the guidance of Mata Rupabawani to dispatch a Jatha to Guruji Sriman Guru Teg Bhadur Ji Maharaj.
The Committee requested to allow its one Jetha as has been done in case of Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines in Uttrakhand where the local traditional jathas have been allowed to perform symbolic Pooja.
Likewise a traditional Jatha of Navdal Tirath Committee be also allowed to pay obeisance at the shrine of Shri Amarnath Ji.
The Temples Shrines Prabhandak Committee Tral Awantipur said it has received the news of cancellation of the annual holy Amaranth yatra with heavy heart.
It said Navdal Tirath Jatha upon finding the permission will strictly adhere to SOPs advised per prevailing pandemics and such grant of permission shall restore faith and confidence in the dispensation and it shall pave way for performance of symbolic Pooja that brings satisfaction in the hearts of society languishing in exile, the statement added.
It said that the Navdal Shrine in Tral where nine springs existed is linked to holy Amarnath yatra from times immemorial. At this shrine after the culmination of the yearly yatra the pilgrims used to visit and immerse the relics in the holy springs besides taking a did in holy water and also performing the Pooja -Archana in a traditional way. This practice could not continue for some years after the terrorism hit the Valley in 1989-90 but over a decade back the Committee started annual yatra at Navdal on the culmination of holy Amarnath yatra to keep the tradition alive.
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