Jammu- The Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) on Monday made Aadhaar card and registration slip mandatory for the pilgrims intending to undertake this year’s pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Amarnath in South Kashmir.
This was decided in a meeting chaired by Principal Secretary to Lieutenant Governor and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shrine Board Mandeep K. Bhandari on Monday with the concerned Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and line departments to review the arrangements for this year’s annual pilgrimage, an official spokesperson said.
In the meeting, he said, it was informed that the adding Aadhaar number on the designated portal will automatically fetch the details of the pilgrim.
“It was informed that Each Registration Branch has been allotted a fixed per day/ per route quota for Registering the Yatris,” the spokesperson said.
The Technical Team, he said, while giving demonstration, apprised that yatris with eKYC done on permit will not require further KYC verification but the non KYC yatris will be verified during the Yatra before issuance of RFID card.
The spokesperson said that the CEO reviewed in detail the arrangements of sanitation services being put in place for the convenience of the pilgrims at base camps, langar sites and en-route to the pilgrimage.
Bhandari, he said, sought details from Director Rural Sanitation, Director Urban Local Bodies about the preparedness.
“The Director Rural Sanitation informed that the tenders have been floated for installation of mobile toilets. Over 940 toilets at Baltal axis and 1345 toilets at Pahalgam axis would be set up at Baltal axis and manpower of 1370 would be deployed for managing these toilets including sanitation workers, supervisors and other staff,” the spokesperson said.
To keep the Yatra camps and tracks clean, he said, the CEO instructed the concerned departments to appoint nodal officers at key locations to keep a close watch on cleanliness and sanitation operations in all camps and along the track and particularly littering of waste and plastic materials.
According to the spokesperson, the Director ULB also informed about the arrangements to be put in place at various locations en-route Kathua to Ramban.
“It was informed that the tenders have been floated for the installation of mobile toilets for the ease of the pilgrims. The CEO directed Deputy Commissioners to share requirements in their respective districts along with location details for installation of toilets,” he said.
He further said that the Commissioner JMC apprised the CEO that anticipating higher number of yatris coming for the Yatra this year, the Municipal Corporation would install additional 120 toilets at yatri niwas and other locations in the Jammu city.
“The CEO issued directions to all the concerned departments to ensure the involvement of the Engineers of Jal Shakti while installing toilets to make sure that there was no shortage of water during Yatra days,” he added.
While reviewing the mechanism for solid waste management, Bhandari, the spokesperson said, instructed the CEOs of Pahalgam Development Authority, Sonamarg Development Authority and the heads of the other agencies to take advance steps for scientific disposal of the bio-degradable and non-biodegradable wastes, including plastic waste.
“The camps and track must be totally free from any waste to avoid damage to the environment and inconvenience to the pilgrims during the Yatra,” he said.
“The CEO emphasized upon the need to make adequate arrangements well in advance by working in close coordination for smooth conduct of the Yatra,” he added.
The meeting was attended by Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Ramesh Kumar; Deputy Commissioners of Jammu, Udhampur, Kathua, Samba, Ramban, Director Tourism Jammu, Additional CEO Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board, Director Rural Sanitation, Director Urban Local Bodies and concerned officers while Commissioner Secretary Rural Development Department, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Deputy Commissioner Anantnag, Ganderbal alongwith concerned officers participated in the meeting through video conferencing.
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