Srinagar/Ramban, July 2: The Amarnath Yatra is proceeding smoothly and there is a huge rush of pilgrims, the Deputy Chief Minister, Tara Chand who is camping at Pahalgam said today.
 “The pilgrimage is going on smoothly on both the routes of Pahalgam and Baltal to the shrine. There is no fear among pilgrims,” Tara Chand told PTI.
 “We interacted with pilgrims at Pahalgam, Baltal base camps in the Valley as well as enroute and they expressed satisfaction over boarding, lodging and community kitchen arrangements made at these places,” he said.
 Tara Chand and CM’s Advisor, Mubarak Gul who were camping at Pahalgam were today joined by the Minister for Technical Education, Prof. R S Chib and Minister for Revenue and Rehabilitation, Raman Bhalla to review the arrangements for the Amarnath Yatris.
 The Ministerial team headed by the Deputy Chief Minister later visited Baltal and took stock of the arrangement and facilities.
 Meanwhile, the Minister for R&B, G M Saroori and Minister for CAPD, Qamar Ali Akhoon, today had a series of meetings at Batote, Ramban and Banihal to review the arrangements for the Amarnath Yatris enroute Batote to Banihal.
 The Ministers enquired about the facilities being extended to the Yatris by the administration and asked the officers to further gear up their men and machinery to ensure comfortable travel and stay of the Yatris.
 Meanwhile, Saroori reviewed the progress of under construction projects from Batote to Banihal and asked the engineers to strictly adhere to quality norms for enhanced results. In this regard, 2-high tech laboratories one each at Jammu and Srinagar are being established to test the quality of works.

11000 Yatris leave for Amarnath Cave
As many as 11209 Yatris today left for Amarnath Cave from traditional route Nunwan-Pahalgam and Baltal-Sonamarg. The Yatris include 538 females and 99 children.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 2 Jul 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 2 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 3 Jul 2010 00:00:00 IST