Governor N. N. Vohra, Chairman of the Shri Amaranathji Shrine Board, visited Yatri Niwas at Bhagwati Nagar and chaired a meeting with officers of all concerned departments and agencies to review the arrangements being made for this year’s Shri Amarnathji Yatra. As earlier notified, the Yatra is scheduled to commence on 29th June 2017, simultaneously along both the Baltal and Chandanwari routes to the Holy Cave Shrine.Governor reviewed the arrangements under way for the Yatra from Lakhanpur Check Post to Jammu and there after upto Banihal Pass. Among these are arrangements for the reception of Yatris at Jammu Railway Station and the Bus Stand; arrangements for On–spot Registration of the pilgrims who arrive without having secured Advance Registration; the requirements of accommodation, catering, hygiene, sanitation, etc. He directed the District and Divisional authorities to ensure satisfactory arrangements in regard to water, power supply, garbage disposal, medicare, transport, and all other requirements for the pilgrims. He also directed the Tourism Deptt. to make adequate provision of lockers for the safe custody of the belongings of pilgrims. For facilitating the stay of Yatris at Jammu, Dr. Pawan Kotwal, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, apprised the Governor that a project had been prepared for air-conditioning the three storey building of the Yatri Niwas.
Governor directed Secretary Tourism to timely consider establishing a Food Court within or near the complex which offers a variety of cuisines to the Yatris, and to set up Tourism Counters to encourage and enable the Yatris to visit tourist destinations in and around Jammu.Governor directed that: an adequate number of On–spot Registration Counters should be timely set up at Saraswati Dham and Jammu Haat; a strict check is exercised on the fares charged from the Yatris using public transport from the transit camps to the On-Spot Registration counters; pamphlets containing Do’s and Don’ts and relevant information about available facilities, routes, distances, fares, etc printed in Hindi and English, should be distributed to all the pilgrims. He also directed that signages should be displayed at prominent locations for guiding Yatris.Governor asked Dr. Kotwal to ensure that adequate arrangements are made for the Yatris at all the transit camps, to particularly take care of any emergency situations. He asked Mr. Umang Narula, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) to timely convene a similar review meeting with the Divisional Commissioner Kashmir and officers of all concerned departments and agencies to ensure that all required arrangements are timely put in place in the Valley, from Banihal Pass to Pahalgam and Sonamarg respectively.
Governor directed Mr. S.D. Singh, Inspector General Police (Jammu Division) to ensure that all necessary security related arrangements for the smooth conduct of the Yatra are made well in time.The Governor had a round of the Yatri Niwas complex and inspected the facilities available there. He was accompanied by Mr. Umang Narula, Principal Secretary to the Governor and the Chief Executive Officer of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board; Dr. Pawan Kotwal, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu; Sh. Farooq Ahmad Shah, Secretary, Tourism; Sh. Manmohan Singh, Commissioner, Jammu Municipal Corporation; Sh. S.D. Singh, Inspector General of Police, Jammu Zone; Sh. Jitendra Kumar Singh, Additional CEO SASB; Mr. Ashkoor Wani, DIG Jammu Kathua range; Ms. Anuradha Gupta, Deputy Commissioner (Incharge), Jammu; Mr. Sunil Gupta, SSP, Jammu; Ms. Nisha Nathyal, SSP Traffic Jammu; Ms. Manisha Sareen Joint Director Information; Mr. Vishesh Paul Mahajan, Joint Director Tourism, Jammu; Dr. Gurjit Singh Sudan, Director Health Services; Chief Engineers of Engineering Wings and other concerned senior officers.