Civil Society and Religious, Social Organisations consulted for successful conduct of SANJY-2022

JAMMU : Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Dr Raghav Langer on Friday chaired a joint meeting of government functionaries and civil society members to discuss and review the arrangements for upcoming Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra 2022.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Commissioner Jammu, Anshul Garg; Director Tourism Jammu, Vivekanand Rai; Additional CEO Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board, Rahul Singh; besides Presidents of Dogra Sadar Sabha, Dharmarth trust, Market Associations, Hotel Association, Traders Federations, Tour & Travel Association, Mahants, Sadhu Samaj, Yatra organisers, prominent citizens and officers of key line departments were also present.

At the outset, the Div Com apprised the participants that the annual Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra 2020 and 2021 was conducted on symbolic basis due to Covid-19 pandemic and this year the number of pilgrims was expected to be very high as compared to the previous years.

“The expected huge footfall will definitely promote tourism activities in the region which witnessed a lean period over the past two years due to Covid” he noted.

The Div Com said that the Administration is making arrangements to create 20, 000 capacity lodgments. A 3000 bedded yatri niwas has been constructed at Chanderkote by the Shrine Board and it will give a major boost to the lodgment capacity for pilgrims along the Yatra route, he added.

It was informed that Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board has introduced IT interventions to ensure the safety of Amarnath Yatris. The board has decided to use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for tracking movement of vehicles and pilgrims during this year’s pilgrimage to the revered Shrine. The RFID tag cards will be issued to all the pilgrims, the meeting was told.

During the meeting, the participants gave their valuable suggestions for making this year’s Yatra a great success.

The participants suggested laying special focus on cleanliness of market areas, religious places and the city besides better lighting arrangements, more lodgment centres, and better control room services. They further suggested distributing pamphlets with information regarding tourist destinations in the districts of Jammu division at Lakhanpur.

To make Yatra more comfortable for the pilgrims, the participants suggested conducting the checking and tagging of vehicles only at Lakhanpur if the documents are complete and said there should be no further checking at nakas.

The Participants advised for starting Chopper Service from Jammu, permitting tourists to visit tourist destinations of other districts, easing of Langer permission process.

They also suggested starting special vehicle services for Yatris to visit local tourist places like Suchetgarh border, Bahu Fort, Peer Kho etc.

All the participants assured full cooperation to the administration for making the Yatra successful.

The Div Com said that all the suggestions will be implemented for making this year’s Yatra a real success and memorable. He said that the Yatra also pushes business activities in the region which have suffered a lot during the covid lockdown.

He said that the tourism activities will also be promoted as many new tourist destinations have been developed in Jammu and peripheral districts.