Ice lingam melts at Amarnath cave shrine

Blame it on the global warming; the naturally formed Ice-lingam of Lord Shiva has melted in the Amarnath cave shrine even before the annual pilgrimage enters into the last phase.

Experts say increasing temperature, less snowfall in winters and rising ambience temperature of the cave has resulted in the melting of the Ice-lingam this year.

“On an average the maximum temperature has been hovering between 18 to 19 degrees Celsius near the Amarnath cave site. Minimum temperature has been hovering between seven to eight degrees Celsius. Minimum temperature never dropped to zero degree Celsius since the onset of yatra 2013”, said Sonam Lotus, director, Meteorological Center
Kashmir.

Situated in a narrow gorge at the altitude of 3,888 meters, the holy Amarnath cave is accessible from two routes in Kashmir valley.

The 46 kilometer Pahalgam – Holy cave trek is an ancient pilgrimage route which is covered in five days.  And there lie the ice lingam of Lord Shiva that is formed naturally, which waxes and wanes with the moon. The new 14 kilometer Baltal-Holy cave route is now preferred by the pilgrims since it is shorter though steep and journey can be
completed in a day.

This year there was less snowfall in winters which also affected the overall climatic conditions in the Himalayan region. “Last year we had a formation (ice lingam) till the end of the yatra. This year the formation has disappeared. There is no dharshan”, said Mahant Dipendra Giri, the custodian of holy mace.

Dr RK Gunjoo, head department of Geology, University of Jammu, said it is not global warming but anthropogenic warming (which affects the lingam).

"Plastics and non-biodegradable should be checked or preferably not used at all because when the threshold limit is crossed the nature is not going to pardon", Gunjoo said

PP Singh, additional chief executive officer (CEO) of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), however refused to comment on this issue. “I am not authorized to speak on this issue. You can talk to CEO on this issue”, he said

Official figures reveal around 3.27 lakh pilgrims have visited the cave shrine till July 27. This year the 55 days yatra started on July 28 and it will culminate on Raksha Bandan which falls on August 21.

Last year around 6.20 lakh pilgrims visited the holy cave shrine in 39 days.