2 lakh pilgrims perform Amarnath yatra

Army, IAF on alert; movement of yatris stopped Over 2 lakh pilgrims perform darshan

The forward movement of yatris was suspended today from both shortest Baltal track and traditional Nunwan-Pahalgam track due to sudden change in weather conditions forcing authorities to put Army and Indian Air Force (IAF) on alert to deal with any eventuality.

However 7,837 pilgrims left the Nunwan-Pahalgam base camp this morning for their onwards sojourn while 10,050 pilgrims left the Baltal base camp for holy cave but due to the sudden change in the weather conditions and heavy down pour at holy cave and yatra area the forward movement of pilgrims was stopped later from Chandanwari, Sheshnag and Panjtarni.

As the heavy rains resulted in slippery track the pilgrimage was also stopped from the Baltal route from 0730 hrs.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) R K Goyal said in view of the sudden change in weather conditions and Special Weather Advisory forecasting heavy rainfall along the entire Shri Amarnath Yatra area later today, the forward movement of the devotees from Chandanwari, Sheshnag and Panjtarni towards the holy cave was stopped immediately, around 1230 hrs this afternoon.

He added that this decision has been taken to ensure the safety and security of yatris.

Army, Air Force and other agencies have been put on alert in view of the abrupt change in weather conditions and the expected heavy rains in the pilgrimage area, to provide the required support to the pilgrims, in case of any emerging situation.

The yatris have been advised to be confined to their respective camps and those enroute must reach the nearest camp locations in view of the heavy rains to avoid any inconvenience to them.

Meanwhile, Governor N N Vohra, who is chairman of the SASB, has directed half hourly monitoring of the situation in the area.

According to a Special Weather Advisory issued by the Met Department for the Pahalgam route, for today and tomorrow, the sky will remain generally cloudy with rain or thundershowers and likely isolated heavy rainfall from Jammu to Pahalgam and beyond up to the holy cave.

Similar weather conditions have been forecast for Banihal- Srinagar-Baltal-holy cave sector for today and tomorrow with the sky remaining generally cloudy with rain or thundershowers and isolated heavy falls.

A yatra official from Baltal said that the sky is very cloudy and the decision to allow devotees will be taken only after receiving green signal from the officials posted at different points on the track.

He said the weather was a bit pleasant at Pahalgam and Baltal but it was raining at Chandanwari, Sheshnag, Panjtarni and holy cave.

He said yatris who left Baltal base camp before 0730 hrs are safe and will continue their journey towards the holy cave once the weather improves.

It may be recalled that the yatra was yesterday suspended from Pahalgam route after 1330 hrs due to slippery track conditions following rains but was later resumed in the evening.

Meanwhile, the majority of yatris who left from Panjtarni and Baltal to holy cave early this morning had performed the darshan of Ice Shivlingam in holy cave situatuted in deep Himalyas in South Kashmir district of Anantnag and were on their way back. All the yatris were safe and sound, a spokesman of Shrine Board said. Despite heavy downpour over 23,755 pilgrims performed darshan in holy cave till last reports came in today. Earlier 1.84 lakh pilgrims had performed darshan in cave shrine till yesterday. With this the total number of pilgrims performing the darshan in holy cave has crossed the two lakh mark since yatra started on June 29.

A pilgrim and a CRPF Jawan died due to heart attack at Baltal last night, taking the death toll in this year’s yatra to 29.

M S Raja Narsimha, a resident of Bangalore, suffered a heart attack during the intervening night, the officials said.

A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnal died near the holy cave shrine last night, official sources said here.

He was identified as Inderjeet Kumar, son of Basuran, resident of Uttar Pradesh. He was posted at Baltal base camp.

Kumar had gone to have darshan of the self-made ice Shivlingam in Amarnath cave shrine situated at 12,500 feet above sea level.

However, last night, he suffered a massive heart attack. He was immediately taken to a nearby health centre where he died.

Meanwhile Deputy Chief Minister, Tara Chand today visited Nunwan and Chandanwari to take stock of the facilities being provided to yatris.

He was accompanied by a team of senior officers of various departments. He also chaired a meeting of the officers of line departments camped at these two places and reviewed the arrangements made by the Government for smooth conduct of the yatra.

The Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag Kifayat Ahmad Rizvi apprised him of the arrangements made by the administration for the pilgrims right from Jawahar Tunnel to holy cave.

However, the unprecedented influx of Amarnath pilgrims continued with thousands of yatris daily reaching Jammu from different parts of country for their onwards sojourn to holy cave.

A fresh batch of 3772 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas Jammu for holy cave early this morning under tight security arrangements.

The pilgrims, including 2633 males, 804 women, 88 children and 198 Sadhus, left in a cavalcade of 118 vehicles amid heavy rains at around 0500 hours.

Till now, a total of 1.88 lakh pilgrims had visited the cave shrine and offered their prayers after having ‘darshan’ (glimpse) of the ice-lingam, they said.

To take the stock of the arrangements the Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Sanjeev Verma today visited the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas and other lodging sites across the city where the pilgrims are putting up.

He was also accompanied by senior officers of various departments. He issued directives to Executive Engineer PHE to ensure safe drinking water to pilgrims and urged the Xen PDD to avoid unnecessary power cuts in Yatri Niwas. Besides, he interacted with yatris and enquired about the facilities.

Fresh batches of yatris left Baltal

Fresh batches of yatris left Baltal

and Pahalgam for holy Cave 

Fresh batches of yatris today left for holy Amarnath cave shrine, situated at 12,500 feet, from shortest Baltal and traditional Pahalgam routes in south Kashmir Himalyas.

However, yatra was suspended from 0730 again this morning following heavy rains, a yatra official said over phone from Baltal.

He said the sky is very cloudy and the decision to allow yatris will be taken only after receiving green signal from the officials posted at different points on this shortest track.

He said yatris who left Baltal base camp before 0730 hrs are safe and will continue their journey towards the holy cave once the weather improves.

The yatra was yesterday suspended from this route after 1330 hrs due to slippery track conditions following rains.

However, pilgrimage from Nunwan-Pahalgam track was going on smoothly even though there was rain.

About 1.75 lakh pilgrims have so far darshan of the holy Shivlingam in the cave shrine since the commencement of the yatra from June 29.

Pilgrims Return Without Darshan

Gujarati yatris return without having darshan after Overcharged

Tired and heart broken, Nattu Bhai and his wife Jasu Behan were taking feeble steps. With tears in their eyes and hoping to return next year they were on their way to Pahalgam for onward journey to Baroda, Gujarat without performing darshan of the holy Ice Lingam of Lord Shiva in the Amarnath cave shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas.

They had planned the yatra last year and had been saving money for whole year to make this holy journey. But they exhausted their money in Sheshnag and decided to return.

Fifty eight year old Nattu Bhai is the leader of the 11 member group, mostly elders. All of them from same locality of Baroda, Gujarat. "We had planned this yatra last year. All of us saved money for this trip but at Sheshnag we were short of money. And then we decided to return," said Nattu Bhai.

"We had brought money as per the rates claimed by the Government. But here we were overcharged. For tented accommodation we were charged Rs 250 per person while the rate is Rs 90. We were charged Rs 4,500 by pony-walas from Chandanwari to Amarnath Cave while the rate is Rs 3,200. And palki-walas charged us Rs 18, 000 while rate is only Rs 13, 000, he rued."

Jasu Behan said "it was difficult for us to make the forward journey. When we realized that we exhausted our money we decided to terminate our yatra. If Lord Shiva wishes we will come next year. Begging was the only option for continuation of our yatra but we decided not to go for it."

Seventy-year-old Bindu Behan, who was the eldest member of the group said "It had been my last wish to have darshan but Lord Shiva didn't grant it this year."

The Tent Union president at Nunwan, Muhammad Anwar denied over charging. He said "we are charging only Rs 90 here at Nunwan but we have no idea what others charge at Chandanwari, Sheshnag and other places. If they are overcharging, it is wrong."

Ghulam Muhammad, a pony-wala admitted that they overcharged. "The Government rate is Rs 3,200 from Chandanwari to Cave shrine and back but our rates range from Rs 4000 to Rs 4500 depending upon the customer."

"When it is peak season, the Government enforces rates. If we overcharge and are caught police beats us. But when the season is lean, we even charge Rs 2000 to Rs 2500 and at that time no one checks our rates, he added."

The overcharging complaints by Amarnath pilgrims are rampart. Even the pilgrims allege that helicopter tickets are sold at higher rates.

Alok Tiwari of Uttar Pradesh, who had performed darhan from Baltal route said, he was charged Rs 6,500. Normally the return fare for the traditional Pahalgam route set by the SASB is Rs 6,900 while for the shorter Baltal route is Rs Rs 4850 per person.

Amarnath Yatra 2011

First batch for Amarnath Yatra leaves today

Amarnath Yatra- 2011 is commencing tomorrow as the first batch of around 4000 pilgrims including Sadhus will leave from the base camp Yatri Niwas at Bhagwati Nagar at 5.30 AM.“Over 4,000 yatris have arrived from various parts of the country in Jammu today. More pilgrims are arriving,” Deputy Inspector General of Police Farooq Khan said.

The first batch of pilgrim will leave from the Bhagwati Nagar-based Yatri Niwas tomorrow, base camp of Amarnath yatra in Jammu for their onward journey to the shrine located at a height of 13500 ft. The yatra will be flagged off by the Minister for Tourism Nawang Rigzin Zora. Earlier “Pratham Pujan” was performed at Panjtarni by CEO SASB joined Niyas office bearers in June 15.

Khan, who welcomed the pilgrims at the newly set up reception-cum-assistance centre at Kunjwani on the outskirts of Jammu city, said that adequate security measures were made for the yatra period.“We have asked pilgrims and their families to pray for peace to prevail in Jammu and Kashmir when they pay obeisance at the cave shrine,” the DIG said.

Notably for Yatra, elaborate security arrangements have been made besides the deployment of thousands of paramilitary forces and police personnel along the entire Yatra route and its peripheries. Reception and Information Centres have been established enroute for educating the Yatris and providing them first hand information about the routes and lodging available at various places. Besides, Joint Yatra Control Rooms too have been established in each district to deal with the issues relating to Yatra. The main reception centre has been established at Lakhanpur, Kunjwani and Railway station.

Yatri Niwas was opened today for registration of pilgrims for lodging. With a multi tier security, the Niwas, spread in an area of several hectares of land, has started community kitchens, assistance booths, joint control room, registration centre as well as boarding and lodging areas.

In the meanwhile, Jammu and Katra Hoteliers have offered special discount of 30 percent on room tariff on all the advance bookings during the Amarnath Yatra. The representatives of the Hotelier Associations  offered the discount at a meeting with the director tourism Jammu convened to discuss comfortable stay of pilgrims during the annual Himalayan cave  yatra  in Kashmir.

In connection with Yatra, Minister for Health and Family Welfare Sham Lal Sharma also visited yatra base camp at Bhagwati Nagar here today and took stock of arrangements put in place for facilitation of Yatris.The minister directed the senior officers of the police and civil administration to ensure close coordination for smooth conduct of Yatra. He laid special emphasis on sanitation arrangements, round the clock supply of drinking water and electricity during the entire yatra period. He directed health authorities to ensure adequate stock of medicines and other medicare facilities for the pilgrims.

The minister directed the Deputy Commissioner, Jammu to personally monitor Yatra on a regular basis and ensure that pilgrims do not face any kind of inconvenience. He also suggested roping in civil defence, Red Cross and other voluntary organizations to facilitate the pilgrimage Divisional Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Chief Engineer PHE, Director Tourism, Director Health Services, Chief Medical Officer, Health Officer, JMC, senior officers of police and allied civil departments of Jammu district were present on the occasion.

Notably on June 21, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had visited Pahalgam and reviewed the law and order situation and the arrangements for the Amarnath yatra. Senior officers of the police and the civil administration had apprised the Union Home Minister about the security situation in the area, particularly in view of the arrangements made for the yatra.

A follow-up review meeting had taken place in Jammu on June 24 to take stock of security arrangements for yatra right from Lakhanpur to Banihal, places of stay and sites of langers.  The meeting was attended by IG Jammu zone, IG CRPF, DIG Jammu and Kathua range, DIG Udhampur-Reasi range, DIG CRPF, DIG CID, DIG IRP, DC Jammu, CMO Jammu, senior police officers, besides officers from paramilitary, army and intelligence agencies.

In the meeting, the deployment worked out by district SSPs, security wing and traffic in Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Udhampur and Ramban too was discussed and reviewed. The assessment of intelligence agencies too had been taken into account.

Governor reviews Amarnath Yatra arrangements

The Governor, N. N. Vohra, who is the Chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, today visited Baltal, Panjtarni and Nunwan Camps and reviewed the arrangements made for this year’s Shri Amarnathji Yatra, which is scheduled to commence on June 29, from Baltal and Nunwan base camps.

The Governor, accompanied by Sunita Narain, Member of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board and a well-known Environmentalist and R. K. Goyal, Chief Executive Officer of the Board, reached Baltal from Srinagar this morning and reviewed the Yatra-related arrangements positioned on the ground. He particularly reviewed the sanitation arrangements, operation of Sewage Treatment Plant, water and power supply, medicare, access control, establishment of langars, security and other services.

He directed the CEO to ensure daily monitoring and supervision of all arrangements. The Governor also visited the 3-day Art of Living camp at Baltal, organized by the Shrine Board in collaboration with the Art of Living Foundation and interacted with a number of participants.

At Baltal, Mohammad Ashraf Shuntoo, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Ganderbal, informed the Governor that the ongoing reparations for the Yatra were at the final stages and there would be no difficulty in commencing the pilgrimage on June 29. Imtiaz Ahmad, SSP Ganderbal, Mushtaq Ahmad,  CEO, Sonamarg Development Authority and the district officers of the various concerned Government Departments and functionaries of the Shrine Board were present on the occasion.

At Panjtarni, the Governor had a round of the entire camp area and reviewed the latest the status of the ongoing preparations. He directed all the functionaries involved with the Yatra-related activities to ensure that yatris were provided the best possible acilities to make the pilgrimage a pleasant experience, despite the vagaries of weather, difficult terrain and mountainous tracks. He particularly stressed round the clock cleaning of toilets/baths and the entire camp area.

On his arrival at the Nunwan base camp in the afternoon, the Governor reviewed the facilities which had been set up for the smooth conduct of the Yatra. The Governor, along with Sunita Narain, inspected all the sanitation related arrangements, particularly the operation of Sewage Treatment Plant at the Nunwan base camp. Deepak Slathia, Police Yatra Officer, Pahalgam axis and R. K. Jalla, SSP, Anantnag were also involved in the discussions.

The Governor instructed that all the required sanitation measures should be effectively enforced to ensure that all flows from the camp area have been properly treated before discharge. He emphasized that environment and ecology must be preserved, particulary ensuring the timely collection and treatment of all types of wastes. He stressed the use of plastic shredders for disposal of plastic bottles and other plastic materials and segregation of waste materials for appropriate treatment.