JAMMU, Aug 19: The three-day annual Kailash Kund Yatra in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir, scheduled to begin on Wednesday, has been curtailed to symbolic rituals this year in view of recent cloudburst incidents and adverse weather forecasts, officials said on Tuesday.
Doda Deputy Commissioner Harvinder Singh appealed to devotees not to attempt joining the pilgrimage, which usually draws thousands of participants from within and outside the Union Territory.
The Kailash Kund Yatra is considered among the toughest pilgrimages in the region, as devotees trek nearly 18 km up the steep Kailash mountain range to reach the 14,700-feet-high shrine, where they take a holy dip in the ice-cold lake ‘Kund’ and pay obeisance to deity Vasuki Nag.
“We had detailed meetings with the organisers and it was unanimously decided to reduce this year’s yatra to symbolic rituals only, given the prevailing situation in Kishtwar and Kathua,” Singh told reporters.
The decision comes in the backdrop of twin tragedies—64 people, mostly pilgrims, were killed and 39 reported missing after a cloudburst-triggered flash flood in Chisoti village of Kishtwar on August 14, while seven persons, including five children, lost their lives in a cloudburst and landslide in Kathua district on August 17.
According to officials, only those carrying the sacred ‘Chhari’ (holy mace) and performing ‘bhajans’ with it, along with supporting staff, will be allowed to participate this year. Special registration cards have been issued to them, while devotees have been urged not to attempt joining the yatra en route.
The deputy commissioner said there is an adverse weather forecast for the next 56 hours. “We are in continuous touch with the Meteorological Department to monitor local weather patterns, so that in case of any emergency, our staff and security personnel on the ground can take necessary action,” he said.
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