Pooja to mark the closing of the annual pilgrimage to the Holy Cave Shrine of Shri Amarnathji, on Shravan Purnima, was held today morning, amid chanting of religious hymns. Shri Umang Narula, Chief Executive Officer, and Shri Jitendra Kumar Singh, Additional CEO, SASB, Shrine Board prayed at the Holy Cave for sustained peace, harmony, progress and prosperity in the State.Today evening, on the formal closure of the Yatra, Governor N.N. Vohra, Chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, chaired a review meeting with CEO and other concerned officers. CEO informed that 2,60,003 lakh Yatris had paid obeisance at the Holy Cave Shrine during this year’s 40 days pilgrimage, which had commenced on 29th June along both the Baltal and the Pahalgam routes.Barring the terrorist attack on 10th July, on a bus carrying Shri Amarnathji pilgrims near Khanabal, in Anantnag District, and the unfortunate road accident which took place on 16th July in Nachilana area of Banihal in Ramban District, Governor observed that, fortunately, the Yatra had passed off well.
Governor expressed sadness over the death of 29 persons in this Year’s pilgrimage, within the Yatra area. Those who lost their lives were pilgrims, service providers and others, of whom 3 died due to accidents and 26 due to medical failures. Governor conveyed his heartfelt sympathy to the families of 8 pilgrims who lost their lives in a terrorist attack on a bus carrying pilgrims and to the next of kin of 17 Yatris who were killed in a road accident in Ramban district. He stressed the need for identifying fresh and further measures which could perhaps prevent the loss of precious lives in the future Yatras.As decided in the meeting held by Governor last week, CEO inspected sanitation and cleanliness at Holy Cave, Panjtarni and Baltal Camps today and apprised the Governor about the ongoing Sanitation Drive in all the Camps and on the Yatra tracks under the supervision of the Camp Directors, and representatives of the various State Government Departments deployed in the Yatra Camps.Governor directed CEO to ensure that no Camp Director leaves the Camp unless all cleaning work has been fully completed, at all locations, as per the approved Sanitation Action Plan for Yatra 2017.