Amarnath Yatra drawing close, admin braces up to setup facilities for devotees
With the Amarnath yatra drawing close, the arrangements for the annual pilgrimage which remained suspended for the last three years owing mainly to the coronavirus pandemic are in full swing. The authorities are expecting record 6 to 8 lakh pilgrims for the upcoming yatra even as the recent spurt in the targeted killings in the Kashmir valley has put the security apparatus on tenterhooks.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had fixed June 15 as the timeline for completing all works pertaining to the Amarnath yatra.
The 43-day-long Amarnath yatra is scheduled to start on June 30 from the twin routes – traditional 48-km Nunwan in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam and 14-km shorter Baltal in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal.
For facilitating pilgrims who throng from various parts of the country-117 community kitchens (langars) will be installed on both the routes of Amarnath Yatra from Baltal and Pahalgam up to the holy cave. While rescue teams will be deployed along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway to provide help to pilgrims during the upcoming Amarnath yatra. Also the arrangements are being finalized at the base camp in Jammu, including Yatri Niwas at Bhagwati Nagar and other registration counters and lodgment centres.
The pilgrimage was halted midway in 2019 following the Centre’s move to end J&K’s special constitutional position. Subsequently, the two waves of pandemic disallowed the authorities to resume the pilgrimage.
Shri Amarnath Shrine Board has given permission to Baba Barfani Langar Organisation. From next week langar establishments will start reaching Jammu and Kashmir. The organizations will be establishing langers from Baltal and Pahalgamupto the holy cave come many parts of country including Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and other states. Maximum 22 langars are installed at the Baltal and Domel.
From Lakhanpur the gateway of the union territory upto Srinagar more than 50 langars will be set up in Jammu, Samba, Udhampur, Ramban, Anantnag, Gandbaral and other areas. The Shrine Board has given permission to employ 50 sevadars in each langar, but Baba Barfani Langar Organization is demanding to increase it.
Meanwhile, the decision to deploy the rescue teams on the highway, especially in slide-prone areas, was taken at a security review meeting chaired by Superintendent of Police, Ramban, Mohita Sharma, a police spokesman said. It was also decided that sufficient manpower will be deployed in advance so that the base camps and routes of the yatra are secured and checked at the earliest.
Addressing the meeting, the SP Ramban called for an effective mechanism and planning for smooth and peaceful conduct of the yatra. Sharma asked officers to focus on sensitive locations and base camps while putting in place security arrangements.
“The coordination mechanisms and communication systems must be established among counterparts of all stakeholders of the Army, Central Armed Police Forces, police and civil administration, ” the SP added.
Deputy Commissioner Jammu Avny Lavasa had asked the police to install a police department to install CCTV Cameras and make adequate provision of lighting systems at the Langar sites. She also asked the department to ensure proper barricading and deployment of adequate security personnel at checkpoints.
Five counters have been established for Tatkal registration of the pilgrims including Vaishnavi Dham, Mahajan Sabha, Panchayat Ghar and two at Geeta Bhawan and Ram Mandir for the registration of Sadhus. A token counter has also been established at Saraswati Dham for crowd management. Reviewing the provisions for cleanliness, sanitation, installation of lights and mobile toilet facilities at Yatri Niwas, lodgment centres, registration counters etc., the Municipal Commissioner, Jammu assured that needful will be done as per the past practice.
