INDIA, December 14, 2017 (Outlook India): 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. 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 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.”