Srinagar, July 4: Barely five days after the start of the annual Amarnath Yatra, the mismanagement by the Jammu and Kashmir Government and Shri Amarnath Shrine Board is clearly visible on ground. In an attempt to diffuse the mounting chaos, the SASB has now issued an advisory, asking the pilgrims to not embark on the Yatra unless they are formally registered.
While police and the SASB officials are grappling to plug the inflow of unregistered pilgrims from Jammu to Kashmir, the piling up of pilgrims at the Base Camps at Baltal and Pahalgam has triggered a chaos.Highly placed sources disclosed to Greater Kashmir that thousands of unregistered pilgrims have already reached the Valley, taking the SASB and the Government agencies by surprise. “Given the inflow of unregistered pilgrims, there seems to be a severe breach in checking mechanism on the Srinagar-Jammu highway,” a top government official, wishing anonymity, told Greater Kashmir. “These pilgrims are reaching the Base Camps, triggering chaos and confusion. This is ultimately affecting the smooth conduct of Yatra and the overall service delivery. The Yatris are fuming over this mess.”The mismanagement has put a huge question mark on the checking mechanism at different places on the 300-km long Srinagar-Jammu highway. “In just five days, there seems to be the inflow of thousands of pilgrims, most of whom are unregistered. This is certainly going to put a huge strain on the service-delivery and raise environmental concerns,” the official said. “And if any untoward thing happens, the Government shall be held responsible for that.”Pertinently, this year the state government curtailed the Yatra period by 15 days in view of the safety of pilgrims along the cave route, which happens to be slippery most of the time due to inclement weather. While the government move has been by and large hailed by the cross section of society, the inflow of unregistered Yatris is causing a disappointment of sorts. “One the one hand the Government voiced concern over the safety of pilgrims and promised better facilities for them. But on the other, there seems to be no check on the registration of pilgrims. The inflow of extra pilgrims is certainly going to raise more safety concerns and cause mismanagement,” said a SASB official, insisting not to be named. “The problem gets compounded by the frequent rainfall which leads to suspension of the Yatra and the stranding of pilgrims at the Base Camps.”A group of Yatris Monday called this newspaper, asserting that they were suffering because of the unregistered pilgrims. “Despite having the registration documents, we were made to wait for hours near Nagrota. That is because there was a long line of unregistered pilgrims arguing with policemen. The system of checking is completely flawed,” they said. “Some unregistered pilgrims are entering the Valley in the garb of being tourists. They later end up in the Yatra Base Camps. This mess needs to be looked into because it is also hampering flow of normal traffic on the highway.”In official estimation, around 5000 pilgrims were to be allowed from Jammu to Kashmir on daily basis. But, the officials said, the figure seems to very high.PERMISSION MUST: SASBInterestingly, SASB on Monday issued an advisory, making a clear reference to the inflow of unregistered pilgrims to Kashmir. The advisory said the SASB’s Chief Executive Officer RK Goyal has “once again appealed to all those who intend to undertake the pilgrimage to the shrine of Shri Amarnathji to complete the necessary registration formalities and obtain a Yatra Permit before embarking on the pilgrimage to avoid facing inconvenience on arrival in the state.”“The pilgrims must embark on the Yatra strictly as per the dates and the routes specified in their Yatra Permits,” Goyal said, asserting that for the Shrine Board’s planning to provide a smooth and a hassle-free Yatra for all pilgrims to be successful, “it is also the responsibility of every Yatri to display the required discipline and, first of all, obtain a Yatra Permit.”WE ARE AT IT: DIV COMThe Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Asghar Samoon, said the registration is done by the SASB. “Our policy as administration is to allow the registered Yatris to visit the tourist spots in Kashmir as well. But there are some pilgrims who come here in the garb of being tourists. Other issue is that some Yatris visit the cave via Pahalgam and return by Baltal. There is a carrying capacity at the Base Camps. And if more people are allowed, it will certainly trigger chaos and confusion,” he told Greater Kashmir.
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