Amarnath Yatra PM lauds people for taking responsibility of pilgrimage

Emphasizing that the pilgrimages in the country do not just offer spiritual vibes but also create opportunities to serve the poor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lauded the people of Jammu Kashmir for taking the responsibility of Amanrath Yatra.

Moreover, the upcoming pilgrimage for the cave shrine lord Shiva is likely to break previous records as around 3 lakh pilgrims have registered so far, also for making the experience of yatris pleasant and seamless government has stressed for ensuring they do not have to wait for more than thirty minutes at the checkpoints.

At the same time current reservation for the yatra will commence from June 28 in Jammu, while the intending pilgrims will started getting tokens from Monday.

“Just 4 days later, the Amarnath Yatra is also going to start from the June 30. Devotees from all over the country reach Jammu Kashmir for the Amarnath Yatra. The local people of Jammu Kashmir take the responsibility of this Yatra with equal reverence, and cooperate with the pilgrims”, PM said in the 90th episode of his monthly radio programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’.

Moreover, the authorities this year are expecting record 6 to 8 lakh pilgrims for the upcoming yatra.
Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) commenced the registration of pilgrims for the 43-day yatra on April 11 through 566 designated branches of various banks across the country, in addition to the facility on its website. Registrations will continue till the end of the yatra.

The 43- day yatra will commence from twin routes – traditional 48-km Nunwan in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam and 14-km shorter Baltal in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal — after a break of two years following the Covid outbreak. Over 3.42 lakh pilgrims had paid obeisance at the shrine, housing the naturally formed ice-shivlingam from July 1 to August 1, 2019 before the government cancelled the yatra midway ahead of abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of J&K into two union territories (on August 5, 2019).

The first batch of pilgrims, including Sadhus, will leave for the twin base camps of Kashmir from Bhagwati Nagar and Ram Mandir in Jammu a day ahead of the official commencement of the yatra which will culminate, according to tradition, on the day of ‘Raksha Bandhan’ festival on August 11.

Other day Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha inaugurated 70-bedded fully-equipped DRDO hospital for quality healthcare services for the Yatris.

J&K Government has ensured that experience of yatris on pilgrimage to the holy cave should be pleasant. Directions have been passed to ensure that all pilgrims have a swift passage at the checkpoints and no yatri should have to wait for more than 30 minutes while going into the base camps, an official said. The board has also decided to extend the free-of-cost battery car service for the pilgrims at the 2.75 km-long Baltal to Domel stretch.

To cater to the high altitude medical issues of Yatris, adequate number of oxygen cylinders, medical beds, emergency responders, doctors and nursing staff has been deployed to deal with any emergency situation, an official said. Director Health Services Kashmir informed that 70 healthcare facilities apart from nearly 100 ambulances have been kept ready ahead of the annual Amarnath Yatra which include 6 base hospitals, medical aid centers, emergency aid centers, and 26 oxygen booths have been kept in read-mode .

“In addition to that 11 on-route facilities and 17 other hospitals available while there are also 100 critical and basic care ambulances kept in ready mode; more than 100 ambulances are available from both the routes.” He added that all the hospitals on the route will have an emergency response system including all the manpower available round the clock. Apart from that 2 dedicated 70-bedded hospitals are up and ready at Chandanwadi and Baltal.

Notably, to ensure safety of Yatris, RFIDs have been made compulsory in this year’s yatra to help in real-time monitoring of pilgrims by tracking them enroute to the cave shrine. For the first time, devotees can travel with ease directly from Srinagar to Panchtarni and complete the holy yatra in a single day. It was a long pending endeavour of the government to introduce the chopper services for pilgrims from Srinagar. “Devotees can log on to the Shrine Board’s website (http://www.shriamarnathjishrine.com) to book a chopper,” he said.

Hundreds of pilgrims including Sadhus, have already started arriving in Jammu and are enthusiastic about undertaking the pilgrimage, a symbol of communal harmony and brotherhood. Over 500 priests have reached at the Ram Mandir at Purani Mandi. Mahant Rameshwar Dass has shared that current reservation for the priests will commence on June 28, and for that they get token from Saraswati Dam near Railway Station. The devotees will be given the facility of immediate medical check-up at the registration centers itself. Apart from this, passengers can get medical check-up done at Gandhinagar Hospital, Sarwal Hospital and Rajiv Gandhi Hospital Kunjwani. Mandatory health certificate is a must for securing Tatkal registration.

After getting the token, current registration will be done by paying a fee of Rs.220, while it will be free for the priests. The current registration counters will be set up at Vaishnavi Dham, Panchayat Bhawan, Mahajan Sabha, Shalamar near the railway station, while current registration of saints will be done at Shri Ram Mandir Purani Mandi and Geeta Bhawan Parade.

Almost all the preparations have been completed for the devotees at the base camp Bhagwati Nagar. On June 28, the registered passengers will be given entry, who will be depart with the first batch in the early hours of the next day. Sadhus and saints will also join separately in this batch.

Meanwhile, Additional Director General of Police, Jammu, Mukesh Singh said security-related arrangements are complete for the yatra which is being conducted under the surveillance and close coordination of various security agencies. ”We have been provided with a sufficient number of security personnel and the deployment (of the forces for the yatra) is complete,” he said, expressing confidence that the yatra will be conducted in a peaceful atmosphere.

The ADGP said since sabotage by terrorists is the biggest challenge during the yatra, the police has also launched an awareness campaign to inform the public, especially drivers, about various steps which are required to be followed to avoid any untoward incident. Senior Superintendent of Police, Udhampur, has started an awareness campaign in the district which falls on Jammu-Srinagar national highway to inform the drivers about the threat of sticky bombs. ”Such a campaign will be taken to all the districts and we are fully confident that the yatra will culminate in a peaceful manner,” he said. During this year’s yatra, SASB has decided to put in place a daily route-wise pilgrims ceiling to 10,000, excluding those travelling by helicopters.