Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Housing and Urban Affairs and Lieutenant Governor Shri Manoj Sinha performed puja for the commencement of Construction work for Yatri Niwas and Disaster Management Center, today. The facility is being developed at Majeen Jammu under the CSR initiative of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) at a cost of Rs 51 crores.
Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister said the Yatri Niwas will help in providing accommodation for 30,000 Shri Amarnathji pilgrims every year and will be particularly helpful for yatris from weaker sections. It will help in traffic management and ensure a seamless experience, he added.
The Lt Governor Manoj Sinha congratulated the devotees of Shri Amarnath ji; officials of the Shrine Board, all stakeholders and organizations associated with Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra and the people of Jammu region for the commencement of the construction work of the Yatri Niwas.
“I am immensely grateful to Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji and Hon’ble Union Minister Shri Hardeep Singh Puri ji for Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board's Yatri Niwas at Jammu. This new facility will ease the lives of devotees embarking on annual pilgrimage of Baba Amarnath,” said the Lt Governor.
The Lt Governor expressed gratitude to the Union Petroleum Minister for approving 4-5 more Yatri Niwas under CSR initiatives for Baba Shri Amarnath Ji's devotees. This Seva of pilgrims on the holy pilgrimage is really appreciable, he said. He also expressed gratitude to Sh Arun Kumar Singh, Chairman ONGC and lauded the Board of Directors of ONGC for their outstanding support in realizing the dream of Yatri Niwas and Disaster Management Center at Jammu.
The Lt Governor impressed upon the executing agencies and all the workers engaged in the construction work to develop the Yatri Niwas as a centre of spirituality which will provide divine experience to the devotees. “Baba Amarnath's holy pilgrimage is the highest peak of spiritual experience.
The construction work of Yatri Niwas should be carried out with complete devotion and a grateful heart,” the Lt Governor said. Under the guidance of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, we are working with greater commitment and devotion to scale up the facilities including lodging, transportation, medical, and better connectivity for the safe and hassle-free pilgrimage of the devotees, said the Lt Governor.
DPR for Chandanwari-Panjtarni- Sangam Top-Baltal road being prepared by NHIDCL is at advanced stage. On completion, this road will provide smooth passage to the pilgrims, he observed. Last year, the maximum number of 3.65 lakh pilgrims visited the Holy Shrine of Shri Amarnathji, since 2015.
As many as 120 additional bank branches were added last year to facilitate the registration of the pilgrims and this year the registration facility is being provided through 542 branches across the country, he added. In 2021, the initiatives of online Darshan, hawan and prasad were taken to facilitate the devotees.
Moreover, Yatri Niwas at Chandrakot which was inaugurated in June last year accommodated around 50,000 devotees, he further said. The Lt Governor said the work for upgradation of Yatra track has been done on a war footing and the work was resumed after snow clearance in March this year.
We are making dedicated efforts to strengthen communication connectivity. Telecommunication towers, Cell on Wheels are being installed by the telecom service providers, besides Army is laying an Optical fiber cable from Sonamarg to Holy Cave, he added. Designed by School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, the Yatri Niwas is set for completion within 18-month time period.
Sh Bharat Bhushan, Chairperson DDC Jammu; Sh Jugal Kishore Sharma, Member of Parliament; Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Sh Arun Kumar Singh, Chairman, ONGC; Dr Mandeep Kumar Bhandari, CEO, Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board; Padma Shri Prof. Vishwa Murti Shastri; members of SASB; senior officials of Police and Civil Administration and a large number of people were present.