Amarnath Yatra 2022: Enhanced Arrangements In Place As First Batch Of Pilgrims Leave For Base Camp

After two years of gap, Amarnath Yatri's are headed for base camp. Improved facilities and augmented security arrangements are already in place to ensure a smoothe and safe pilgrimage.

Jammu: A day ahead of the commencement of the annual Amarnath Yatra, pilgrims have finally reached Jammu to get ready for their holy journey to the shrine, after a gap of two years. Proper facilities have ben installed and heightened security measures are in place ahead of the pilgrimage. With just a day left for the Amarnath Yatra to start on the 66 km journey from Nashri to Banihal, all arrangements are operating in full swing to welcome the pilgrims. As directed by the Amarnathji Shrine Board, the yatra was cancelled in 2020 due the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jammu & Kashmir | Pilgrims reach Jammu ahead of Amarnath Yatra which will be commencing on June 30, after a gap of two years.

“We were waiting for 2 years to offer prayers to Baba Bholenath, very happy to see it happen,” a pilgrim says pic.twitter.com/mAb61WJnnm

— ANI (@ANI) June 28, 2022

Arrangements in place for Amarnath Yatra 2022

1. Modern yatri niwas for Amarnath pilgrims was inaugurated by Governor Manoj Sinha in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district on Tuesday. It will be able to give accommodation to about 3,600 pilgrims. The yatri niwas has a cluster of 17 dormitories in G+2 dimensions with all modern facilities and features, including modern toilets, fire extinguishers, signages, LED down lighters etc.
2. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) hostel has been prepared too. Langar, medical, communication and sanitation facilities for the pilgrims have been ensured.
3. Apart from mobile toilets, 1,005 toilets have facilitated along the NH44 and in shelter sheds. Additionally, designated water supply, CCTV cameras, public sign boards have been installed to keep the yatris updated.
4. To enhance the holding capacities at the shelters, the arrangements boast best-in-class medical, sanitation and lodging facilities. For the pilgrims’ convenience of completing the pilgrimage in a single day,  helicopter services will be plying on new routes.
5. Camps have been set up at the Jammu airport, the railway station and the bus stand, which will issue radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags on the basis of travel slips and identity cards, the officials said.
6. Battery-operated cars will be provided to the pilgrims for the 2.3-km distance of Baltal and Domel. The LG said the Amarnathji Shrine Board mobile application has been revamped and launched in five languages — Hindi, English, Punjabi, Gujarati and Telugu — to facilitate the pilgrims with up-to-date information, advisories etc.

With tight security in place, police control rooms, joint control rooms, helpline numbers and District Emergency Operation Centre numbers have also been established.

Jammu & Kashmir | Ahead of Amarnath Yatra, security tightened at Jammu Srinagar National Highway, Manthal near Kali Mata temple in Udhampur district pic.twitter.com/1RtVuqxPFJ

— ANI (@ANI) June 28, 2022

All arrangements have been put in place to ensure a safe, hygienic, and peaceful journey for the Amarnath Yatris. Chief Nodal Officers have been deployed to monitor the regular and smooth operation of all the facilities established.

Amidst heightened terror threats and ongoing tensions in Jammu and Kashmir, security has been tightened with special emphasis on the use of over 130 sniffer dogs on vehicle routes heading towards the shrine. As per an ANI report, it is the first time when security forces have been using a maximum number of sniffer dogs to check the use of explosives by terrorists to disrupt the 43-day annual pilgrimage.

(With agency inputs)