Orders stronger infrastructure, regular audits to ensure safe, smooth conduct of yatra
Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, July 9
Chief Secretary on Thursday reviewed arrangements for the annual Amarnath Yatra, directing officials to strengthen infrastructure and public services as authorities reported a higher-than-usual turnout of yatris this year.
Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo chaired a meeting attended by senior civil, police and security officials, as well as representatives of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, to assess facilities along the twin pilgrimage routes through Baltal and Pahalgam.
Officials told the meeting that the yatra had attracted an unprecedented number of devotees since it began this year, prompting the administration to expand facilities and review additional safety measures.
The meeting examined recommendations submitted by the SASB following assessments by committees constituted to inspect arrangements on the ground.
Among the proposals discussed were widening narrow stretches of the yatra track and bridges, extending tiling along the route to the cave shrine, constructing retaining walls in landslide-prone areas, increasing rain shelters and waiting sheds, installing additional barricades for crowd management, and augmenting the availability of palanquins and stretchers for medical emergencies.
Officials also reviewed sanitation, drinking water supply, toilet and bathing facilities, waste management and healthcare services at camps and transit points along the routes.
The administration discussed installing more digital display boards for advisories, strengthening firefighting infrastructure and improving disaster preparedness through additional emergency equipment.
Dulloo directed all departments involved in the yatra to establish dedicated audit teams to conduct regular inspections and immediately address any deficiencies in facilities or infrastructure.
He also called for closer coordination among civil agencies, security forces and the SASB to ensure there were no delays in resolving operational issues.
The annual Amarnath Yatra, one of Hinduism’s most important yatras, draws hundreds of thousands of devotees each year to the Amarnath Cave shrine and is conducted under extensive security arrangements in J&K.
