Amarnath row: Talks fruitful, both sides to meet again

Another Samiti leader Tilak Raj Sharma said there were no stumbling blocks and the talks were moving smoothly.

S S Bloeria, who headed the Governor’s panel, also said the talks were ‘fruitful’.

Without divulging what was discussed at the two rounds lasting nearly five hours, he said, “we have decided to meet again.”

After the first round, Bloeria said, “we discussed and exchanged views in a cordial atmosphere.”

The four-member government panel arrived in the city from Srinagar on Friday after the Samiti on August 19 agreed to hold talks with it, days after it spurned a similar offer for a dialogue.

Asked whether the panel had agreed to restore land to the Amarnath Shrine Board, Samiti leader Suchet Singh said, “this depends on overall discussions.”

“This also depends on our and their viewpoints. We are hopeful of the talks progressing towards that end,” he said after the second round of parleys.

Singh said Samiti members, who took part in the talks, would report back to their leaders, spearheading the stir over the land controversy, seeking their advice on certain issues.

After that, they would come back to the negotiating table, he said.

Asked whether they discussed the issue of transfer of some police officers and a package for the transporters who suffered losses during the ongoing stir, Singh said, “we discussed these issues.”

But, the core issue was that of restoration of land to the shrine Board for which ‘we are fighting’, he said.