JAMMU, INDIA, June 19, 2006: Hindu pilgrims have sought action against authorities in Jammu and Kashmir for forming an artificial ice stalagmite for them to worship after it failed to occur naturally at a Himalayan shrine. The sleight of hand was discovered last week when the annual pilgrimage to Amarnath, a cave shrine deep in the mountains in the region, began after being delayed by heavy rains and snowfall. Hundreds of thousands of Hindus trek along a treacherous mountain path to worship an ice stalagmite in the cave, a symbol of Lord Shiva. But this year, authorities had to form an artificial stalagmite from snow as the natural ice formation failed to show up in time for the start of the pilgrimage, Arun Kumar, head of the state-run Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board which administers the shrine, told Reuters. “Those who committed this sin should be punished as they were responsible for hurting our religious sentiments,” Ram Mahajan, head of Dharam Prachar Mandal, a Hindu group in northern India, was quoted as saying by the Times of India newspaper. Although the size of the stalagmite has varied in previous years depending on the amount of weather, its non-formation this year was a bad omen, some pilgrims said. Last year, a record 400,000 pilgrims visited the shrine, located at an altitude of 12,700 feet.
A picture of the cave is available http://www.amarnathyatra.org/, clearly showing no Sivalingam formed this year due to unusual weather.