Warming affects Hindu pilgrimage in Indian Kashmir

September 18, 2011
By Peerzada Arshad Hamid
Alertnet

PAHALGAM, India (AlertNet) – A very long way from home, Arvin Prasad Goel clutched his wife’s hand as they prepared to eat in a makeshift communal kitchen set up on the Himalayan mountainside.

They were weary from a four-day trek through rough terrain and cold weather to visit the Amarnath cave, perched at an altitude of 12,600 feet (3,880 metres) in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.