New Delhi: Registration for the annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine in the Himalayas in South Kashmir is going to start from April 1. An official gave this information on Saturday. This cave temple is situated at an altitude of 3,880 meters, for which the 56-day journey will start on June 28 from the Pahalgam and Baltal routes and end on August 22.
In a meeting held earlier this month, officials said that all COVID-19 protocols are in force and standard operating procedures issued by the government will be followed. Nitishwar Kumar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) said, “Registration for both routes will start from April 1 through 446 designated bank branches across the country, including Punjab National Bank (316), The branches of Jammu Kashmir Bank (90) and Yes Bank (40) are included. ”
He said that details about the procedure for registration, application form, and state-wise list of bank branches are available on the website http://www.jammu.com/shri-amarnath-yatra/registration-form.php of the board with full address. The CEO said that only health certificates issued by doctors or medical institutions authorized by state governments or administrators of union territories will be accepted at the registered bank branches. Certificates are mandatory as the cave is located at a very high altitude and the journey is difficult. Kumar said, “Only health certificates issued after March 15 for Yatra-2021 will be valid. Information about the steps to be followed for registering has been put on the board’s website. ”
Fees for registration, including fees for ponies, palanquins, and porters
He said it also included relevant information on accessing the base camps, fees for registration, fees for ponies, palanquins and porters. Kumar said that people under 13 or over 75 years of age and pregnant women over six weeks will not be registered for this year’s journey as per Covid-19 norms. He said permits would vary for each day of the week and routes for travel. Kumar said that pilgrims who wish to travel by helicopter will not require advance registration as their ticket will be sufficient for this.
Kumar said, however, that he would be required to obtain a compulsory health certificate issued by an authorized physician. Meanwhile, authorities in Jammu reviewed arrangements at the Bhagwati Nagar base camp on Saturday for the Amarnath Yatra this year and called for increasing the housing capacity from 2,000 to 5,000.
Instructions to increase the housing capacity of the camp from the current 2,000 to 5,000
He said that emphasizing on cleanliness, Jammu Deputy Commissioner Anshul Garg directed the officials to keep the ‘Yatri Niwas’ and the places identified nearby for the stay of the passengers clean and green. Garg, in a meeting here, while reviewing facilities like electricity, drinking water, transport, security, barricading, mobile toilet, clock room and community kitchen, directed the concerned authorities to increase the housing capacity of this camp from the current 2,000 to 5,000.
