Muzamil Jaleel SRINAGAR, JUNE 29: Ending three weeks of controversy over the transfer of forest land to the Amarnath shrine board, Jammu and Kashmir's new Governor N N Vohra today stepped in and, in his capacity as chairman of the board, asked the state government to take over the Yatra arrangements. The Ghulam Nabi Azad government, reduced to a minority after partner PDP walked out of the coalition, promptly agreed and the board withdrew its request for the transfer of forest land. Vohra, who arrived in Srinagar four days ago and took charge at a time when Raj Bhavan was under fire over the land transfer and protests were raging in the streets, handled the situation deftly. His letter today to the Chief Minister gave Azad some respite. "In view of the State Government's firm commitment that the requirements and interests of the Yatris will be fully ensured and protected, the SASB (Amarnath Shrine Board) does not need to pursue its earlier request for forest land being diverted for creating the required temporary facilities for the Yatris,' stated Vohra's letter. In the wake of this letter, Azad said there was no controversy now. He appealed for an immediate end to public protests. "I will, however, reiterate that the Shrine Board has not been dissolved. Such a question does not arise. The government will have no role in the religious rites during the Yatra. We (government) will provide all the facilities to the Yatris and make every arrangement for a smooth pilgrimage,' he said. The Opposition National Conference welcomed Vohra's move, even taking credit for it, claiming they had proposed this solution. "Governor Sahib has done his bit. Now the government has to act and cancel the cabinet order which was issued to transfer the forest land,' said NC president Omar Abdullah after a meeting of his party's core group. "The situation will not normalise until the cabinet order is cancelled.' Asked whether the NC will support the Azad government, Abdullah said his party does not have a mandate to support or be with the government. The separatist camp too wants nothing less than the cancellation of the order. "The statement of the Chief Minister is not sufficient. We want the order (of the transfer of land) to be revoked,' said Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani said. The chief of the Hurriyat moderates, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, too sought clear cancellation of the land transfer order. Mirwaiz said that the people should continue peaceful protests. The focus now is on the fate of the Azad government. After the PDP pulled out, the coalition lost its majority in the House. With the opposition NC announcing they will not support the government, it looks difficult for Azad to survive a floor test. The Chief Minister can only hope that the NC or PDP do not push for a floor test. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, in fact, called the Vohra solution a "victory' for her party. "We would want peace and normalcy to return,' she said.