SRINAGAR: Welcoming the pilgrims with the message of love and peace, Shrine Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) Wednesday said that this year the pilgrimage will be longest ever that would last for 62 days and so far 3.04 lakh pilgrims have registered which is 10 per cent more than the previous year, even as Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Home, R K Goyal and Police chief Dilbag Singh took stock of arrangements put in place for pilgrims arriving for the annual Amarnath Yatra.
Addressing a press conference here, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) SASB, Dr Mandeep Kumar Bhandari said that Shrine Board and the UT administration is fully ready to welcome Yatris open heartedly from July 1 onwards. “The yatra will last till August 32. This year’s pilgrimage will last for 62 days and will be longest ever so far,” Bhandari said.
He said so far 3,0,4000 pilgrims have registered with the board through various modes of registration available. “The figure is 10 per cent more than the last year,” he said.
He said that Yatris up to the age of 70 years can perform the pilgrimage. “Yatra can be performed from two routes—Baltal which involves 14.5 kms trekking and from Chandanwari where from Yatris have to trek 32 kms upto the cave shrine,” the CEO SASB said.
He said that yatri’s will perform the darshan of ice-lingum at the height of 13000 feet. “This year, yatra tracks on both the routes have been widened and hand railings have been installed. “
With the help of grid supply, Baltal track has been illuminated and with the supply from generator set, Chandanwari track has been illuminated too so that if any pilgrims gets stuck during night, he/she can walk smoothly,” he said.
The CEO said that on both tracks, proper drinking water supply has been ensured. He said that 440 beds have been kept at the both base camps to deal with the pilgrims who suffer from High Altitude sickness. “Internet and calling facilities have been ensured for pilgrims enroute cave shrine from both tracks,” he said, adding that 4000 sanitary workers have been employed to collect trash and dispose of the same at base camps.
At various vulnerable points, helmets have been made available for the pilgrims so that they can protect themselves from shooting stones and landslides during heavy rains, the CEO said, adding that mountain rescue teams have been deployed enroute cave shrine for quick evacuation.
He said that no pilgrim will be allowed to stay at the cave shrine for night stay. “No pilgrim will be allowed to proceed for pilgrimage without RFID chips,” the CEO said, adding that tent facility to accommodate 70,000 pilgrims have been put in place.
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Home, R K Goyal on Wednesday took stock of arrangements put in place for pilgrims arriving for the annual Amarnath Yatra.
Goyal visited Pahalgam and took stock of arrangements being put in place at Nunwan and Chandanwari base camps for the yatris, an official spokesperson said.
He said the ACS Home was accompanied by Director General Police Dilbag Singh and CEO of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) Mandeep Bandari.
At the Chandanwari camp, Goyal reviewed the healthcare facilities established in DRDO hospital for providing quality healthcare services to the pilgrims.
He directed the officers to work in mission mode for ensuring the best possible facilities for devotees and asked to also ensure the deployment of adequate numbers of doctors and other paramedical staff in the hospital to cater to the needs of devotees.
“The makeshift state-of-the-art hospital, built by DRDO at Chandanwari, will help in providing better and round-the-clock healthcare facilities to the pilgrims of Amarnath Yatra and those engaged in the management of the pilgrimage,” Goyal said.
He directed the medical officer to keep the facilities available round-the-clock so that no devotee has to face any inconvenience on this account.
The annual 62-day pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre high holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas is scheduled to start on July 1.
The first batch of pilgrims are leaving for the valley from Jammu’s Bhagwati Nagar base camp on June 30.
Goyal also visited Nunwan Base Camp at Pahalgam and took stock of preparations and arrangements for the ensuing Yatra.
ACS Home conducted a detailed tour of the base camp and inspected the facilities including drinking water, healthcare, toilets, sanitation, entry points and langar management, established at the camp and also held meetings with the camp directors and other officers.
He directed officials on maintaining proper sanitation and quality basic amenities at all the spots established for the devotees.
Meanwhile, a police spokesperson said the DGP and the ACS Home took an extensive tour of the twin routes of the pilgrimage.
They first visited Baltal Camp, then to Panjtharni, Chandanwari and Pahalgam Nunwan Base Camp to review the security, logistics and other arrangements for the Yatra.
The officers also visited Domail and Neelgrath helipads.
The tour was aimed to assess the various on-ground arrangements made for the safe and secure yatra. During the tour, the officers personally inspected and evaluated the security and logistic arrangements, working of joint police control rooms, the spokesperson said.
The officers also chaired joint meetings of deployed incharge officers of Police, CAPFs and other stakeholders at these places.
During these meetings, the officers stressed full coordination among the forces and other stakeholders for the smooth conduct of the pilgrimage.
They emphasised on identifying the sensitive places on the Yatra routes which need additional facilitation of the pilgrims.
The deployed officers were also directed to implement the devised plans for the security and safety of pilgrims and to work diligently to ensure the highest standards of professionalism while extending all required assistance and cooperation to the yatris, the spokesperson said.
The visiting officers also stressed keeping all communication networks through with all stations to meet any eventuality. Further camp directors were directed to conduct a fire audit of all langers and tents to avoid any incident.
All deployed officers were directed to conduct regular meetings within the ranks and to ensure that the personnel deployed are briefed from time to time, the police spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, two days ahead of the start of the annual Amarnath Yatra, a trial run was conducted on Wednesday from Jammu to Banihal for a thorough inspection of security and other arrangements to ensure a safe pilgrimage for the devotees.
Leading a convoy of security vehicles, Additional Director General of Police Mukesh Singh, accompanied by senior officers, conducted the trial run along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
Senior civil and police officers in charge of the Jammu division examined all arrangements made by Jammu, Udhampur, and Ramban district administrations for the pilgrimage.
“The trial run was conducted by the security establishment from Jammu to Banihal on the highway for a thorough inspection of security and other arrangements”, an officer said.
To ensure the utmost convenience of the pilgrims, the administration has planned that transit camps would accommodate the devotees in the event of inclement weather necessitating the closure of the highway, officials said, adding steps have been taken to ensure landslide debris are cleared promptly expediting the reopening of the highway.
