Excelsior Correspondent
Jammu, Apr 28: Governor N. N. Vohra, who is Chairman of the Shri Amaranathji Shrine Board, visited Yatri Niwas at Bhagwati Nagar today to meet all concerned officers and review the arrangements which are being made for this year’s Shri Amarnathji Yatra. As earlier notified, the Yatra will commence on July 2, simultaneously along both the Baltal and Chandanwari routes.
Addressing the meeting of all concerned officers, held in the Yatri Niwas, the Governor reviewed various arrangements for the Yatra from Lakhanpur Check post onwards, including the reception of Yatris at the Railway Station and the Bus Stand; requirements of accommodation, water, power, food, hygiene and sanitation, etc. He directed the Divisional and District authorities and the Tourism Department to ensure satisfactory arrangements on all fronts, with due attention to cleanliness, garbage disposal, medicare, transport, etc. He also directed that cloak room facilities be made available at the Yatri Niwas for the safe custody of the Yatris belongings.
The Governor asked the Divisional Commissioner and DIG to ensure against any unregistered pilgrims being allowed to proceed to the Valley and to advise the Yatris to secure Advance Registration to avoid any inconvenience. He also directed that suitable transport arrangements should be made for ferrying the Yatris to the Yatri Niwas and proper check being exercised on the rates to be charged for such travel. For the facilitation of Yatris, the Governor desired that pamphlets containing complete guidance and information about available facilities, routes, distances, including those of the nearby tourist destinations, should be got printed and distributed among the arriving Yatris, from Lakhanpur Post onwards.
The Governor directed the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, to ensure provision of adequate arrangements for the Yatris at all the transit camps to take care of both the normal and emergency requirements. The Governor was informed that the Divisional Commissioner Jammu along with Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) had already held a detailed meeting on April 20, with representatives of all departments and agencies which are concerned with the Yatra arrangements in Jammu Division.
The Governor asked the Inspector General Police (Jammu Zone) to effectively co-ordinate the security arrangements to ensure the smooth conduct of the Yatra and asked the CEO, SASB to urgently ensure large scale publicity of the Yatra related Dos and Don’ts and Advisories, through the print and electronic media.
At present, the Yatri Niwas-Bhagwati Nagar has 13 Dormitory Halls with capacity of accommodating 1300 Yatries; a Food Court and a Shelter Shed. Facilities of Super Bazar, BSNL Facilitation Centre, Medical services, Booking Office of J&K SRTC, Banking Facility by J&K Bank, etc will also be available to Yatris here.
The Governor had a round of the Yatri Niwas complex and inspected the facilities available there. He was accompanied by Mr. Pradip Kumar Tripathi, Principal Secretary to the Governor and the Chief Executive Officer of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board; Dr. Pawan Kotwal, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu; Farooq Ahmad Shah, Commissioner, Tourism; Mubarak Singh, Vice-Chairman JDA; Jitendra Singh, Additional CEO, SASB; Kuldeep Dhar, IGP CRPF; Ashkoor Wani, DIG, Jammu-Kathua Range; S.A Watali, IGP Traffic; Simrandeep Singh, Deputy Commissioner, Jammu; Dr. Sunil Gupta, SSP Jammu; Mr. G.S Chib, Director CAPD; R. K. Verma, Director Tourism, Jammu; R.S Jamwal, Joint Commissioner, Jammu Municipal Corporation; Chief Engineers of PWD, PDD, and other concerned senior officers.
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