LG pays obeisance at Amarnath shrine, performs puja

Srinagar:Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory (UT) Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday paid obeisance and performed puja besides prayed for good health and happiness for all at the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in South Kashmir Himalayas.

The Lt Governor, who is also the Chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), accompanied by the senior officers from Army, Civil administration, Police and the Shrine Board, performed puja at the shrine.

The SASB, for the second consecutive year, cancelled the pilgrimage in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

'May the divine blessings of Lord Shiva ensure good health and happiness in everyone's life and bless us with strength to overcome the ongoing health crisis,' prayed the Lt Governor.

The annual pilgrimage testifies to the tradition of the wonderful cultural syncretism of Jammu and Kashmir. But, considering the ongoing situation due to Covid-19 pandemic, the Amarnath has been cancelled. However, respecting the sentiments of the devotees, the SASB has arranged live telecast of the morning and evening Aarti from the Holy Cave shrine, besides all the traditional religious rituals shall be performed at the Holy Cave Shrine as per past practice, the Lt Governor said.

J&K government has taken a slew of measures to reduce the spread of infection and every arrangement has been made to ensure that the Covid appropriate behaviour is being followed during Aarti and other rituals. 'Let us resolve to effectively deal with the pandemic by following Covid guidelines and work towards furthering human welfare,' added the Lt Governor.

Pertinently, both morning telecast of Aarti at 0600 hrs and evening Aarti at 1700 hrs , each for 30 minutes, is to be live-streamed on Shri Amarnath ji Shrine board official website and the app specifically dedicated for the devotees.

The devotees can pay their virtual obeisance to the Holy Ice Lingam online through the Shrine Board’s link www.shriamarnathjishrine.com/AartiLive.html. The same may also be streamed through the Shrine Board’s mobile based application which may be downloaded through the link http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ncog.shriamarnath from the Google play store.

The Lt Governor was accompanied by Lt Gen DP Pandey, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 15 Corps; Pandurang K Pole, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir; Dr Piyush Singla, Deputy Commissioner Anantnag; Abdul Jabbar, DIG South Kashmir Range (SKR); Anup Kumar Soni, Additional Chief Executive Officer, SASB besides officers of Army, Police, CRPF & Shrine Board.(UNI)