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New Delhi: In what has left pilgrims infuriated, the National Green Tribunal on Wednesday directed the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) that there should be no chanting of 'mantras' or 'jaykaras' in Amarnath.
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An NGT bench headed by chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar also directed that pilgrims would have to deposit all mobiles and belongings at the last check post. From there, there should be a single queue of people walking towards the cave, said the NGT.
The NGT had in November suggested that the area around the Amarnath Shrine cave should be declared a "silence zone" to prevent avalanches and asked to put a stop to throwing food offerings and coconuts near and inside the cave.
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The tribunal had also suggested replacing the iron rods installed inside the Amarnath cave with security personnel so that pilgrims can get a better view of the shrine.
Lakhs of people perform Amarnath Yatra, a pilgrimage to a shrine in the Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir, every year.
The Yatra is usually undertaken between July and August.
Situated at 3,888 metres above sea level, the shrine houses an ice stalagmite structure that waxes and wanes with the size of the visible moon.
Devotees believe the ice stalagmite structure symbolises mythical powers of Lord Shiva.
During the pilgrimage, the cave is approached by pilgrims either through the 46-km-long traditional Pahalgam-Chandanwari-Sheshnag-Panchtarni trek or through the 14-km-long Baltal-Dumail trek.