Governor N. N .Vohra, who is Chairman of the Shri Amrnathji Shrine Board, held a meeting at Raj Bhavan here today to review the ongoing preparations for the forthcoming 48 day Shri Amarnathji Yatra, which is scheduled to commence on 2ndJuly, 2016. The meeting was attended by Mr. P.K. Tripathi, IAS, Principal Secretary to Governor and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Shrine Board; Mr. Jitendra Kumar Singh, IAS, Additional CEO, Mr. R. K. Pandita, General Manager (Works) of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board and other concerned officers.The Governor reviewed the to-date position of various ongoing arrangements for the Yatra, including the registration of Yatris; provision of heli services for the pilgrims; grant of Tent & Shop permissions by Dy Commissioners; grant of permissions by CEO to NGOs for setting up of Langars in the Yatra area; provision of Telecom Services in the Yatra area; appointment and deployment of Camp Directors and Additional Camp Directors; arrangement for cleaning of Camps; arrangements to be made by the Fire and Emergency Services in the Yatra area; track cleaning; garbage collection and disposal; provision of Insurance cover to the Registered Yatris, Service Providers and ponies; Weather forecasting in the Yatra area; status of ongoing works; arrangements being made by the Power Development Department and the Public health Engineering Department to provide electric and water supply in the Yatra area; arrangements being made for registration of Pithoos, Palkiwallas / Dandiwqallas, Ponywallas and Ponies etc.
After the review, the Governor observed that while most of the arrangements are being made within the scheduled time - lines, it is necessary for sustained publicity being carried out to caution the pilgrims about the Do’s and Don’ts of the Yatra , so that every pilgrim prepares to be physically fit before embarking on this arduous pilgrimage. It is also necessary that, to avoid inconvenience on arrival, every pilgrim obtains Advance Yatra Registration after furnishing a Medical Certificate of physical fitness from the doctors/ institutions nominated by the State Governments / UTs. Governor re-iterated maintenance of strict vigil during the Yatra period, to ensure the safety and security of the pilgrims.The Governor directed CEO to urgently review and ensure time bound action on all the Yatra related arrangements which are to be made by the Divisional Administration, District level authorities, CEOs of the Pahalgam and Sonamarg Development Authorities and the various Departments of State Government, particularly the department of Tourism, PHE, PDD, CAPD, Health, Labour and Animal Husbandry Department, Fire and Emergency Services, J&K etc. The Governor also directed CEO to make arrangements for the comfortable stay of all the Pujaries, Camp Directors, Additional Camp Directors, officers and others who support the Shrine Board in managing the Yatra and proper facilities should be provided to the Yatris along both the routes. Governor wished all the intending Yatris to have a comfortable and successful Yatra ahead.