Road to cave shrine would be environmental disaster: Mirwaiz

"The Supreme Court should consider the implications of its directions to the state government. It will be a environmental disaster and a death blow to the local flora, fauna and ecology," Mirwaiz said in his Friday Sermon at Jamia Masjid here.

The Hurriyat Chairman said that the people of Kashmir, including the separatists were not against providing facilities to the Amarnath pilgrims but these facilities should not come at the cost of the ecology and environment.

"If a road is constructed in that area, thousands of tree will have to be felled," he said.

A division bench of the Supreme Court, taking suo moto cognizance of high number of deaths among the Amarnath pilgrims, on Monday directed the state government to construct a road to the Amarnath cave shrine before snowfall this year.