Jammu, Jan 29: Disaster-prone and vulnerable areas along the twin routes leading to the Amarnath shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas will be marked ahead of the yatra to the shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said on Thursday.
Directions for marking the areas have been given to the divisional administrations and deputy commissioners of Anantnag and Ganderbal by Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo at a meeting here, the officials said.
Dulloo directed that no utilities, including tents and temporary structures, be installed in such high-risk disaster-prone and vulnerable zones along the twin routes – the traditional 48-km Pahalgam route in Anantnag and the 14-km shorter but steeper Baltal route in Ganderbal district.
The annual yatra usually takes place in July-August, drawing devotees from across the country and abroad to the shrine.
Chairing the 15th High-Level Committee meeting of the Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board (SASB) on Wednesday, the chief secretary asked line departments and stakeholders to ensure that comprehensive arrangements for the annual yatra are put in place well ahead of its commencement.
Emphasising advance planning and timely execution, he directed departments, including Tourism and Public Works Department, to complete all tendering, procurement and contract-related processes within the coming month.
He stressed that early finalisation of works is critical to ensure seamless arrangements before the onset of the yatra.
The chief secretary asked the deputy commissioners to facilitate all service providers and ensure that facilities created at every location are adequate, appropriate and sufficient for pilgrims as well as service personnel.
He urged inter-departmental coordination and optimal utilisation of the available work window so that all infrastructure and services are fully ready well before the scheduled yatra dates, an official spokesman said.
He said health preparedness formed another key focus area, with directions issued to ensure adequate deployment of medical manpower and functionality of base hospitals at Chandanwari and Baltal, besides strengthening health facilities enroute.
The Health Department was asked to initiate the process of engaging additional medical staff from outside, as per established practice.
The meeting also deliberated on ensuring that only RFID-registered pilgrims possessing valid health certificates are allowed to undertake the pilgrimage, the spokesman said.
During the meeting, Chief Executive Officer, SASB, Mandeep Kumar Bhandari highlighted improvements achieved after the conclusion of last year’s yatra, ongoing works and those proposed to be completed ahead of Yatra-2026.
He also briefed the meeting on BRO-related works for track upgradation, measures to ensure reliable power and water supply, disaster mitigation initiatives, prepaid hiring systems, camp holding capacities, registration of labour and pony services, the spokesman said.
