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Amarnath Yatra tragedy (1996) refers to the deaths of over 250 pilgrims in 1996 in Jammu and Kashmir state in 
The number of pilgrims in 1992 reached 50,000. The first attack against the pilgrims happened in 1993, the same year the Pakistan-based
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
due to poor weather. The pilgrims were on the annual pilgrimage (Yatra
( sa, यात्रा, 'journey', 'procession'), in Indian-origin religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, generally means a pilgrimage to holy places such as confluences of sacred rivers, sacred mountains, places associated ...
) to Amarnath shrine.
The number of pilgrims in 1992 reached 50,000. The first attack against the pilgrims happened in 1993, the same year the Pakistan-based Harkat-ul-Ansar
Harkat-ul-Mujahideen- al-Islami ( ur, ; HUM) is a Pakistan-based Islamic jihad group operating primarily in Kashmir.Babri Masjid. The pilgrimage however passed off mostly peacefully.
In 1994-5 and 1998, the group again announced a ban on the annual Amarnath yatra. In 1996 the militants had assured that they would not interfere.
Due to the lack of activity by Harkat-ul-Ansar, the number of pilgrims in 1996 were higher than usual. Between, 21 and 25 August 1996 about one lakh (100,000) yatris were simultaneously moving either up or down between
Due to the lack of activity by Harkat-ul-Ansar, the number of pilgrims in 1996 were higher than usual. Between, 21 and 25 August 1996 about one lakh (100,000) yatris were simultaneously moving either up or down between
Jammu
Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...
and the Amarnath.
During this period, there was unusually heavy snowfall along with severe blizzards along the yatra route. Nearly 242 yatris died due to exhaustion, exposure, freezing, and other factors.
Over 263 dead bodies were found in and about the surroundings of the temple.
The National Conference government constituted a committee headed by the retired IAS IAS may refer to:
Science
* Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, New Jersey, United States
* Image Analysis & Stereology, the official journal of the International Society for Stereology & Image Analysis.
* Iowa Archeological Society, Uni ...
officer Nitish Sengupta, which was asked to inquire into various aspects of the tragedy and suggest measures and remedies to avoid recurrence of such incidents in future.
Points of References
Natural disasters in India 1990s in Jammu and Kashmir 1996 natural disasters Disasters in Jammu and Kashmir August 1996 events in Asia 1996 disasters in India {{india-hist-stub