Fried Food, Cold Drinks Now Banned during Amarnath Yatra
Amarnath Yatris won�t get halwa, puri, burger, pizza or other stuffed parantha from this year. Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has banned all sorts of cold drinks, fast food and fried food in both the routes to Amarnath (Baltal and Pahalham). In a conversation with the Deputy Chief Executive, he said that the ban has been imposed following recommendations by an expert committee which also comprised of eminent doctors. The decision to ban the fried food as well as cold drinks has been taken primarily because these food items lead to acclimatization problems and since the route lies at an elevation of about 13500 feet. Oily food results in respiratory problems in regions where the temperature dips down to sub-zero at night. This committee was called following the concerns of Supreme Court for the large number of pilgrims� death in 2012. During the 39-day Yatra as much as 130 pilgrims had died in 2012. The following years, the deaths however came to a fall but there still were 40 casua