BJP activists stage protest in Jammu over Amarnath Shrine Board issue
25 Jun 2008, 1933 Hrs

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Jammu, June 25 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists staged a protest in Jammu today to voice their anguish over the separatists demand for cancellation of land allotted to the Amarnath Shrine Board.

The BJ P activists have called for a shutdown in the city on June 26.

The agitators said that any effort made to hinder the Amarnath pilgrimage would invoke reactions from the Hindus and they would come on the streets along with the Sikh community.

"If any attempt is made to stop the Amarnath Yatra then we will not sit back. We threaten the provincial government that we along with our Sikh fraternity will come on the streets of Jammu but we won't tolerate any obstruction in the pilgrimage. We have announced a shutdown in Jammu tomorrow. Sikh and Hindu community along with political parties will support the shutdown and appeal the people in Jammu to support us by closing their shops," said Vikram Chaudhry, president, BJP youth wing.

Authorities last week said nearly 100 acres of forestland in Kashmir was being transferred to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) to erect temporary structures for the pilgrims who annually trek to the Hindu cave shrine Amarnath, deep in the Himalayas.

Local Muslims have opposed the move and the state has been witnessing several protests in the past few days.

Kashmiri separatists had protested saying the fragile ecology of the mountainous region would be ruined by building "permanent" structures at base camps of the Amarnath pilgrimage.

During the two-month-long pilgrimage, thousands of devout Hindus trek to the cave, situated at an altitude of 3,800 meters (12,700 feet). (ANI)