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| Registration for Amarnath Yatra from June 5 | | Pilgrims, pony wallas to get free insurance cover | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, June 1: In what can be seen as a safety measure and facility introduced for the first time, all the registered yatris, labourers and 'pony wallahs' will get a free accident insurance cover of Rs one lakh during the two-month-long pilgrimage to holy Amarnath cave shrine. The yatra is commencing from July 1 from both traditional Pahalgam and shortest Baltal routes.
However this time every pilgrim will have to provide a self-certification that he or she is fit to undertake the arduous 'yatra', which involves climbing up to 13,500 feet. The Yatra will conclude on Raksha Bandan which falls on August 24 this year.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) P K Goyal said this time the Board is providing, free of cost an accidental insurance cover of Rs one lakh to all the registered yatris who possess valid yatra permits.
For this purpose the SASB has concluded an agreement with the New India Assurance Company Limited. Last year, a 'yatri' opting for an insurance cover was required to pay a sum of Rs 24 at the time of registration.
The Board has also completed the required formalities to provide similar accidental insurance cover to all the registered labourers deployed during the 'yatra' and is in the process of extending a similar facility for the 'pony' owners in case their 'pony' is involved in an accidental death.
He expressed gratitude to the State Government for providing the funds required to provide such insurance cover to the labourers and 'pony' owners.
Goyal said this decision was taken in a recent discussion between the SASB chairman N N Vohra, and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
The Board undertook to handle the entire processing work to conclude the requisite agreement with the insurance company.
In this context, the CEO referred to the precious lives lost last year and cautioned that no person who has a serious medical or orthopedic ailment, or any breathing, chest or heart problem, should not undertake this arduous Yatra.
According to Chief Executive Officer of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), the registration of the Yatris for this year's Yatra will commence on June 5, from Registration Counters established in 121 designated Branches of the J&K Bank, located all over the country. The details of these Branches are available on the Board's Website (www.shriamarnathjishrine.com). Because of the longer distance and travel time, the registration of pilgrims from the Pahalgam route will not be allowed after August 22 , the registration in respect of the Baltal route, which is much shorter, will close on the August 23.
The registration will be done on "First-Come-First-Serve Basis". The Registration Counters at the designated Branches of the J&K Bank shall remain open from 3 PM to 6 PM on all working week days and 1 PM to 4 PM on all working Saturdays during the period of Registration. This year, the number of designated Registration Counters has been increased to 121, from 103 last year.
For effective security arrangements, no Yatri will be allowed to enter or proceed beyond the Base Camps unless he is in possession of a valid Yatra Permit for a specified date and route. In this context, the C.E.O appealed to all those who intend to undertake the pilgrimage to complete the necessary formalities for registration and timely obtain a Yatra Permit, in their own interest, so that no inconvenience is faced by any Yatri with regard to the date of his / her Yatra and the route to be followed.
CEO also informed that this year all the labourers, pony and pithuwallahs are also being provided Photo Identity Cards, for effective security.
For the purpose of Registration the requisite Application Form can be collected from any of the designated J&K Bank Branches, across the country, or downloaded from the Board's website.
Goyal informed that the helicopter services for the Yatris who wish to avail of such facilities would be available on each of the two routes viz. Baltal - Panjtarni - Baltal and Pahalgam - Panjtarni- Pahalgam. The one way heli-fare for Baltal- Panjtarni and Pahalgam-Panjtarni has been fixed at Rs. 2425/- and Rs. 3800/-, respectively. Children, between the age of 2-12 years, will be required to pay half the prices.
He further disclosed that from Panjtarni the Yatris would need to travel a hilly track of about 6 kms., on foot, Ponies or Palkies, as per their wish, to reach the Holy Cave Shrine. The C.E.O. noted that the helicopter fares this year are substantially lower than those in Yatra 2009. He further clarified that, to reduce inconvenience and delays, the Yatris who travel by helicopter would not be required to separately obtain Yatra Permits as their required details would have been recorded before issue of helicopter tickets which would serve as Yatra Permits.
Notwithstanding the continuing rain and snowfall in the past two weeks the Shrine Board and each of the various concerned Government Agencies have been engaged, round the clock in making the required arrangements at the Base Camps and along both the routes to the Cave Shrine. Special emphasis is being laid on the preservation of the ecology and environment of the Yatra area. A detailed plan has been drawn up, under the expert guidance of Dr. Sunita Narain, an eminent Environmentalist and the Member of the Shrine Board, to maintain cleanliness at the Base Camps in Baltal and Nunwan and enroute the Holy Cave.
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