Secretary, Rural Development Department (RDD) and Panchayati Raj, Mohammad Aijaz Asad, today conducted an extensive tour of Pahalgam to assess the sanitation facilities being put in place along the axis for the upcoming Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra (SANJY), 2025.
He also visited different camps along the route, starting from Nunwan Base camp, Chandanwari and trekked upto Sheshnag to oversee the sanitation arrangements for the upcoming yatra. The Secretary took stock of arrangements of men and machinery at Pissu top, Zojibal and Wawbal upto Sheshnag.
He was accompanied by Director General (DG) Rural Sanitation, Anoo Malhotra; Assistant Commissioner Development (ACD) Anantnag, Shafiq Ahmad; BDO Pahalgam and other district officers. The Secretary emphasized that the department remains fully committed towards ensuring the highest standards of facilities and services for the pilgrims.
During his visit, the Secretary reviewed installation and functionality of various sanitation infrastructures including the toilets, washrooms, dustbins, drainage for grey water disposal, segregation of wet waste site, plastic waste management site and related facilities along the Pahalgam axis.
The Secretary also examined the installation of dustbins around the Nunwan base camp and yatra route to ensure effective waste disposal, segregation of waste at source and promote cleanliness among the pilgrims.
He stressed the importance of maintaining highest standards of cleanliness and called for implementation of a zero-landfill policy along the entire pilgrimage route. Pertinent to mention here that toilets and baths are to be installed along both the Pehalgam and Baltal axes and on yatra route.
Besides, the department is also responsible for the operation and maintenance of 1,576 already installed toilets. The Secretary issued specific directions for effective grey water management, including construction of adequate soak pits and drainage systems to prevent water logging and ensure environmentally sustainable waste disposal practices.
He emphasized the need to ensure clean, safe and efficient facilities for pilgrims, particularly in areas such as sanitation, water supply, accommodation and medical support. Inspecting the arrangements on the ground, the Secretary underscored that quality service delivery and hygienic conditions are non-negotiable.
He asked the officials to adopt a pilgrim-centric approach and ensure that all necessary arrangements are made promptly for the convenience and well-being of devotees. Aijaz Asad called for immediate redressal of complaints, especially those related to hygiene, through a real-time response system.
He informed that a QR code-based feedback system had been introduced at toilet points to enable pilgrims report cleanliness status, provide feedback and support centralized tracking for improving the service delivery.
The Secretary also interacted with the field staff, sanitation workers and ground-level officers. He instructed the concerned officials to ensure that every pilgrim has access to the best possible sanitation facilities. The Secretary, later, in the evening visited the helipad at Pahalgam to review the preparations for the Yatra.