Kashmir News Trust #KNT
Reacting to the Kounsarnag Yatra controversy, former interlocutor M.M.Ansari Friday termed the pilgrimage as a move from some vested interest elements to disrupt the peace and order in Kashmir valley. He appealed to the state government to allow the yatra only from the traditional Reasi route.
“All those elements who are hell-bent to conduct the proposed Kounsarnag Yatra from the South Kashmir route are the enemies of peace. At a time when Kashmir is limping back towards normalcy, the starting of this yatra will have serious repercussions and may prove a major bottleneck in the efforts of creating and maintaining communal harmony and amity between different sections of people,” Ansari told the news agency Kashmir News Trust adding that State Government should not allow this yatra and before taking any decision it must take all the stakeholders on board.
Former Chief Information Commissioner said yatra is an excuse to communalize the politics of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
“The Kounsarnag is a freshwater spring located in the climatically fragile environs of Kashmir Valley. At a time when a lot is said and written about the environmental hazards, the influx of humans to Kounsarnag will prove disastrous,” he said and added that it will be good for the economy of the State if the area will be developed as a tourist spot.
He said that the issue will snowball into a major controversy if the state government will allow the yatra from South Kashmir as, amid protests and clashes, separatist leaders have already forwarded a strike call in this regard. “State government must act promptly and should take a pro-people stand,” he said. [KNT]
