SAROOR S JAMWAL
Jammu: As the online registration of pilgrims for this year’s Shri Amarnath Yatra is expected to begin later this month, the Border Road Organisation—that has been assigned the task to maintain the road and track, has expedited the snow clearance exercise.
Notably, for the first time in the history, the BRO has been given the responsibility of maintaining the yatra track.
Official sources said that the responsibility of maintaining the yatra track for the first time has been assigned to the Border Roads Organization and so far, a five-kilometer long track has been cleared from Domel to the Cave, which is believed to be one of the difficult routes in the pilgrimage.
“Presently about 15 to 20 feet of snow is covering the track up to the cave and the BRO men, along with machinery, are putting all efforts in clearing the route to facilitate a smooth journey for the pilgrims,” said an official.
“As devotees are eagerly waiting for this year’s Amarnath Yatra, the registration process is expected anytime in this month,” he said.
The official said that it is also learnt that the yatra this year may be of 60 days, which as per tradition, concludes on Raksha Bandhan (falling on August 30 this year) and in view of that, the road clearing executing agency (BRO) is on toes to accomplish the mission at the earliest.
“Preparations for the yatra are going on at a fast pace and the snow clearance work is also underway on the 14-km long track from Baltal Base Camp to the holy Amarnath cave,” official sources revealed.
They asserted that BRO men equipped with hi-tech machinery are engaged in the work on the route to the holy cave and it is expected that the snow covered tracks will be cleared by the end of this month.
“As soon as the snow clearance work is completed, the repairing and widening of the track will be taken up on fast track mode,” they said adding that the track will be widened keeping in mind the convenience of passengers, palanquins and pony operators.
“Likewise previous year, RFID chips will also be issued to the pilgrims for secure and safe yatra so that in case anybody goes missing, can be tracked soon through this technology,” said an official.
Sources in the administration said that the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board is also planning construction of concrete (cemented) tracks on twin routes to the Cave Shrine on the lines of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi with maximum facilities for the devotees.
“After concrete track will be in place, the devotees will not face difficulty in trekking to the Cave Shrine even if it rains,” they said adding that biggest advantage will be that the time and money spent every year in repairing the snow bound track will also be saved and the routes can be readied in a short span for yatra.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari also on Monday announced a Rs 5300 crore project to connect the holy cave of Shri Amarnath with the road network. He had said that the Detailed Project Report of 73 kilometres of track from Khanabal to Chandwari worth Rs 1800 crore will be prepared in the month of July this year while the DPR for 35 kilometres of the Chandanwari-Panjtarni-Baltal track worth Rs 3500 crore would be prepared by October 2023.
He announced that as per the project, a 10.8 kilometres tunnel would be constructed between Sheshnag and Panjtarni to protect devotees from land sliding and snowfall.
The government will also construct a five kilometres Pakka track from Panjtarni to the holy cave that will be five and a half feet wide with a barricade on both sides for the safety and projection of the devotees.
The Union Road Transport and Highways further announced that after the completion of this project, devotees will conduct the Yatra within eight to nine hours.
Last year the 43-day yatra started on June 30 and concluded on August 11 on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. In total, 3.65 pilgrims performed darshan at the cave shrine of Amarnath in 2022. The figure was the highest in the past five years. However, 16 pilgrims died and several went missing due to the cloudburst in July during the yatra that remained suspended for three days.
