KASHMIR, September 4, 2012 (presstv.com): HPI Note: The following report comes from a pro-Pakistan website favoring Kashmir “independence” and should be taken accordingly.
After four years of relative calm, the issue related to a Hindu shrine in Indian-controlled Kashmir seems to pop up again. This comes as the Supreme Court of India issued orders to build permanent roads and facilities in the ecologically sensitive area where the cave shrine is located. The cave Shrine known as Amarnath is situated at an altitude of around 14,000 feet.
The pro-independence leader of Kashmir Syed Ali Shah Geelani has accused India of politicizing the pilgrimage. Calling people to observe a close down on Tuesday over this move of the Indian court, Geelani said New Delhi must not create the image of pilgrimage as a military project. Geelani has asked the government not to think of paving roads up to the shrine. In the wake of the shut down, businesses, government offices, banks and schools were closed and the vehicular movement was limited.
In 2008 the issue of allotment of land to the same shrine for building infrastructures and facilities generated a stir in Kashmir dividing the Jammu and Kashmir State on communal lines. The region of Kashmir witnessed the biggest street protests in its history. Government closed down the region for months and people were reportedly killed due to the use of extra force. Now experts warn of similar repercussion. Other Kashmiri leaders have also expressed their concern over interference of the state government in the affairs of the shrine in Kashmir stressing that the increasing number of pilgrims would wreak havoc on the fragile ecology of the region.