The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday said that it has not declared Amarnath a "silent zone" and that it has only instructed devotees to maintain silence in front of the Shivling. Issuing clarification on the matter, the green body said that the order is not applicable to any other part.
The green panel also directed that from the last check post there should be single line of people walking towards the cave, reported news agency ANI.
The NGT on Wednesday had directed the Amarnath shrine board that there should be no chanting of 'mantras' or 'jaykaras' , no ringing of bells in the shrine.
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The NGT had earlier asked the committee to consider declaring the area around the Amarnath Shrine cave as "silence zone" to prevent avalanches and ensure there is prohibition on carrying of religious offerings inside the cave to maintain its pristine nature.
The Amarnath Shrine Board had faced the wrath of the National Green Tribunal for not providing proper infrastructural facilities to pilgrims going to the cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas, saying it can't "deprive people of proper darshan".
"You are giving priority to commercial activities over pilgrims. This is unfair. The sanctity of the shrine has to be maintained but you can't deprive people of proper darshan," a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar had then said.
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The green panel had formed a committee of experts headed by additional secretary of Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to submit primary action plan on providing facilities to the pilgrims.
With Agency Inputs
