The political house may be divided on many issues but the announcement of toll tax exemption for Amranath Yatra Langar vehicles at Lakhanpur is welcomed by all across. The demand for exemption has been there for quiet a long time. Various political parties including BJP have been demanding exemption of vehicles carrying Langar material from toll tax even during the National Conference-Congress Coalition Govt but there was not decision taken and every year Yatra had some or the other irritant causing hitches in the smooth flow of pilgrimage to the Himalayan bode of Lord Shiva. But this year the positive decision came from none else than the PDP patron and Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed who really showed his political acumen while issuing the decision of toll exemption for the vehicle. Though there would be a fall in revenue for the State but the goodwill earned would be much higher than the revenue loss. Not only this majority of Yatris who undertake this annual pilgrimage and the Langar organisors are from outside the State which would send a positive message outside. The annual Amarnath Yatra has always remained clouded under one or the other controversy. The PDP-BJP coalition may be a divided house on two issues of Jammu’s prestigious-AIIMS and the artificial lake, the decision to exempt vehicles carrying Langar material would assuage whatever little hurt sentiments of the people in the region. Mufti is a clever player in this game compared to BJP leaders of Jammu who till date were not able to see beyond their myopic outlook. The 2008 Amarnath land agitation which kept the region in a Bandh mode for more than two months should work as an indicator about the gains the region got after the emotion-charged stir. Most of the policies announced till date have not been able to address the aspiration of the region but this one would find a welcome support all along the community except few the so called separatists and their supporters who have been demanding curtailment of the Yatra from its present two months period.
