Srinagar, March 30 (KMS): In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Chairman of International Forum for Justice and Human Rights J&K Muhammad Ahsan Untoo has said that in view of the rise in COVID positive cases, holding Amarnath yatra in large numbers could be a threat to the local people.

Muhammad Ahsan Untoo in a statement issued in Srinagar said, “Holding the yatra in such large numbers without adhering to the COVID protocol will be like throwing a bomb on Kashmir.”

It is worth mentioning here that Indian authorities are holding one of the biggest Hindu pilgrimages this year in Kashmir amid the rise in the positive cases of COVID. They have opened the registration for the Hindu pilgrimage of Amarnath from 1 April.

Kashmir’s top officer, B V R Subrahmanyam, who is close to Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, recently asked officials to make arrangements for the stay of pilgrims at several camps in the occupied territory. He asked the officers earlier this month to “prepare for an expected footfall of 6 lakh yatris this year”.