Srinagar, Jun 7 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday chaired the 49th board meeting of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) at Raj Bhawan here.

The meeting was attended by members of the shrine board, Swami Avdheshanand Giri Maharaj, Kailash Mehra Sadhu, K K Sharma, K N Rai, Mukesh Garg, Shailesh Raina, Simridhi Bindroo, Suresh Haware and P Vishwamurti Shastri.

The Amarnath Yatra will commence on July 3, simultaneously from both the routes — the Pahalgam track in Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district and it will culminate on August 9, on the occasion on Raksha Bandhan.

The Board, which met under the chairmanship of the LG held a comprehensive review of the preparedness of all the line departments and proposed various measures and interventions to further improve the facilities for the devotees.

In the meeting, the board discussed the arrangements and requisite amenities at base camps and various locations enroute Yatra including disaster preparedness and mitigation measures, dissemination of pilgrimage-related information, insurance cover to yatris and service providers.

Discussions about upgradation of yatra tracks, provision for sanitation water, power, transportation, and medical and health care facilities, telecom connectivity, Weather Forecasting, Digital Pre-paid system for hiring services, fire & emergency services, and civil supplies were also discussed in the meeting.

The LG took appraisal of the progress on various ongoing projects and directed for ensuring completion of the identified works well in time for the convenience of the pilgrims.

“Safety and well-being of the Pilgrims is our top-most priority. We are committed to provide better facilities and amenities to ensure a hassle-free and spiritually enriching experience for all the pilgrims,” Sinha said.

The members also discussed important matters pertaining to establishment of Yatri Niwas and Transit camps at various locations enroute, enhancement of lodgement capacity, expansion of Prasad Sale counters, operationalization of Yatri facilitation centres, online services by the Board, issuance of RFID cards, registration and verification of pilgrims and service providers, Langar and NGO Services.

Mandeep K Bhandari, Chief Executive Officer, Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, gave a detailed presentation regarding the arrangements for the Yatra.

It was informed that around 3,31,000 devotees have registered for the holy yatra for this year, till date.

Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, additional Chief Secretary Kabra, Additional Chief Secretary Shaleen Kabra, DGP Nalin Prabhat, Principal Secretary Home Chandraker Bharti and other officials of various departments. PTI MIJ NB NB