Geelani denies ‘macadam statement’, sticks to his guns on Amarnath

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

Srinagar, Nov 1: Separatist hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani has dismissed Omar Abdullah government’s media campaign over Amarnath Yatra track as an attempt to “distract attention from the real issue”. While asserting that he had never claimed ‘macadamization of Amarnath track’, Geelani has however reiterated his demand of reducing the number of pilgrims and period of the annual Hindu pilgrimage.

According to a statement issued today from headquarters of Geelani-led faction of the Hurriyat Conference, neither the conglomerate nor its head had ever claimed that the track to the holy Cave was being widened and macadamized. Spokesperson of the separatist alliance claimed that the state government’s sponsored aerial inspection of the track by a select group of journalists on Wednesday was “just an attempt to distract attention from the real issue”. He added: “Hurriyat (G) has never alleged black-topping of the yatra track. It has never claimed that structures were being raised over there”, the spokesman asserted.

“After a detailed survey in upstream Pahalgam, Hurriyat (G) had said that building material was being dumped on the track at large scale by the Shrine Board. It had simply expressed apprehensions that attempts could be made in future to utilize these dumps for widening and macadamizing the road in a phased manner”, the spokesman said. He asserted that Hurriyat (G) was continuously firm and resolute on its four demands made in 2008---immediate dissolution of Shrine Board, shifting the entire gamut of the pilgrimage and shrine management to the local Pandits, reducing the number of pilgrims and curtailment to the yatra period.

The spokesman said that macadam or no macadam could be considered only after the Government responded to Hurriyat’s charter of demands. It needed to be clarified whether the government taken Hurriyat’s demands seriously or it was taking Delhi’s diktats with its eyes shut, said the spokesman. He alleged that the establishment was misleading the masses through the unwarranted refrain of “no-macadam” which was not Hurriyat’s fundamental demand. He claimed that the Hurriyat’s concerns and demands were based on apprehensions of scientists and ecological experts who believed that existing duration and rush of the pilgrims, coupled with constructions, could have a dangerously negative impact on the Valley’s environment. Even the sources of water could dry up completely, he said.

In a press conference on October 18^th, Geelani had threatened to launch a mass agitation after Eid-ul-Azha (October 27^th) if the state government did not stop widening and macadamizing the pilgrimage track from Pahalgam to the holy cave. From Chief Minister to IGP Kashmir, several government functionaries have contradicted Geelani’s statement and claimed that there were no such plans on cards. On October 31^st, Government sponsored an aerial survey of select mediapersons by a helicopter and provided evidence that no construction work was underway. However, the trip was restricted to only Baltal area and no sorties manoeuvered to Pahalgam-Cave track.

In his October 18^th press conference, Geelani had warned that the fresh anti-Shrine Board agitation would be “far bigger than that of 2008 and 2010”. At the same news conference, Geelani had claimed that fresh efforts of raising “Amarnath Nagar” were underway. According to him, Governor was implementing the plan by directly taking dictation from New Delhi and the state government had been rendered completely helpless. He had claimed that huge quantities of construction material had been already dumped on Pahalgam upstream as the Shrine Board, according to him, had started widening and macadamizing the road to the Cave.

“Shrine Board has arranged special permission for vehicles as truckloads of material are reaching from Rajasthan with the direction to authorities that none of these vehicles be subjected to checking”, Geelani had told mediapersons. According to him, the road from Pahalgam to the holy Cave was being widened and macadamized under orders of Supreme Court and Omar Abdullah’s government had not deployed any of its attorneys in defence. Geelani had claimed that Hurriyat was not against the pilgrimage but it was putting up resistance “only because this pilgrimage is being used as a tool to sustain and strengthen the Indian political aggression (on Jammu and Kashmir)”. He had also mentioned conservation of ecology and wildlife as another reason.

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