SRINAGAR: Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) has yet again appealed to all those who intend to undertake the pilgrimage to ensure that they complete the necessary registration formalities and obtain a valid Yatra Permit before they embark on the pilgrimage to avoid inconvenience on arrival in the State, as no Yatri who does not possess a valid Yatra Permit shall be allowed to cross beyond Nunwan and Baltal Base Camps under any circumstances.
Mr. Navin K. Choudhary, Chief Executive Officer, SASB, reiterated the importance of strictly enforcing the Board’s decision against any unregistered pilgrim being allowed to undertake the Yatra and stated that this is all the more important keeping the recent Uttarakhand tragedy in view.
It is pertinent to recall that for this year’s Yatra the Shrine Board has fixed a ceiling of 7500 Yatris per day per route and, besides, the 1000 plus pilgrims who travel by the Helicopter services upto Panjtarni. He stressed the directions of the Chairman, Mr. N. N. Vohra, that this number must not be exceeded under any circumstances and urged the intending pilgrims to take note of it. He also stressed that the pilgrims must embark on the Yatra strictly as per the dates and the routes specified in their Yatra Permits, clarifying that the Yatra Permits for this year’s pilgrimage are of different colour, for each day of the week and route, to facilitate Police personnel deployed at the Access Control Gates at Domel and Chandanwari in determining whether a Yatri possesses Yatra Permit valid for the relevant date and route. In this context, he cautioned the intending Yatris against undertaking this arduous Yatra without first securing a valid Yatra Permit. He said that for ensuring effective security arrangements along the difficult tracks, only those Yatris who are in possession of a Yatra Permit, which is valid for a specified date and route, will be allowed to proceed beyond the Base Camps, and cross the Access Control Gates at Domel and Chandanwari.
The CEO said that to ensure that every intending pilgrim could timely go through the Registration process, this year the Shrine Board had opened 422 Registration Counters across the country, against 174 last year. Further, this year Registration was commenced three months in advance of the Yatra i.e. on 18th March 2013. However, in view of the significant number of unregistered pilgrims who have arrived ahead of their scheduled date of Yatra this year, the Divisional Administration Kashmir, in coordination with the Shrine Board, J&K Bank, and Directorate of Tourism, Kashmir, have established seven counters each at Pantha Chowk, Srinagar, and Tourist Reception Centre (TRC), Nowgam, Srinagar, to facilitate such unregistered Yatris to obtain registration before they can proceed to the Yatra Base Camps. He said that this facility is in addition to the Current Registration arrangement which has been made available to pilgrims at several locations in Jammu i.e. Vaishnavi Dham, Saraswati Dham, Jammu Haat and Ram Mandir,
adding that such pilgrims who have arrived in Jammu without having obtained valid Registration should secure Registration from the aforesaid counters at Jammu before proceeding towards the Valley.
The CEO reiterated that all children below the age of 13 years and all elderly persons above the age of 75 years will not be allowed to undertake the Yatra, as per the Board’s decision.
The CEO said that on the instructions of Mr. N. N. Vohra, Governor, who is Chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, all intending pilgrims possessing valid registration will be provided an insurance cover of rupees one lakh against accidental death within the State during the period of the Yatra, adding that this insurance cover is available only to the duly registered Yatris and not otherwise.
The CEO has also once again urged the intending pilgrims to strictly adhere to the advisory of Do’s and Don’ts issued by the Shrine Board for the Yatris visiting the Holy Cave Shrine of Shri Amarnathji, as they have to undertake a very arduous trek through high mountains under adverse weather conditions. |
