Srinagar, June 25: The annual Yatra to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath commenced Monday on both Pahalgam and Baltal routes simultaneously, with Governor N N Vohra paying obeisance at the sanctum sanctorum and participating in the “pratham darshan and pooja”.
He prayed for sustained peace, harmony, progress and prosperity in the state, a handout issued by Raj Bhavan said.
Usha Vohra, First Lady, and Navin K Choudhary, Chief Executive Officer of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, along with other senior officers of SASB, accompanied the Governor during the visit.
Immediately thereafter, the Yatra formally commenced when the gates were thrown open to the eagerly awaiting pilgrims.
After his visit to Amarnath cave early in the morning, the Governor also reviewed the arrangements made for the Yatris at the cave shrine camp and conveyed SASB’s thanks to the state government, Army, paramilitary forces, state police and all the concerned agencies for their support and cooperation.
He stressed the need for effective supervision and close day to day monitoring by the Camp Directors and all the functionaries involved in the management of the Yatra for ensuring smooth conduct of the pilgrimage, particularly keeping in view the difficulties and stoppages caused by intermittent rains and bad weather and the still large accumulation of frozen snows in the Holy Cave and Sheshnag Camps and on over 12 kilometres of the tracks.
Later, the Governor flew to the Baltal Base Camp and joined Mian Altaf Ahmad, Minister for Forests, who flagged-off the two Baltal-Panjtarni helicopter services which are being operated by M/s Summit Aviation Pvt. Ltd. and M/s Himalayan Heli Services Pvt. Ltd. The Governor also reviewed the Yatra arrangements put in place at this Base Camp and the Camps enroute the Holy Cave.
From Baltal the Governor proceeded to Pahalgam where he inaugurated the Pahalgam-Panjtarni helicopter service being operated by Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. Thereafter, he visited the Frisking and Spot Registration Counters which were set up yesterday. Later, he visited the Nunwan Base Camp where he reviewed the arrangements made for the Yatris.
The Governor also visited Chandanwari where he inspected the functioning of the Control Gate and the arrangements at the Chandanwari Camp. He directed that one more Shelter Unit should be set up next to the Control Gate for the convenience of the pilgrims.
The Governor interacted with the Yatris at the Holy Cave, Baltal, Pahalgam, Nunwan Base Camp and Chandanwari and enquired about the adequacy of the arrangements made for the Yatra. The Yatris were appreciative of the arrangements made by the Shrine Board, the State Government agencies and other service providers, despite the continuing bad weather, and expressed their thanks.
Meanwhile, Mr. Navin K. Choudhary, CEO, has once again appealed to the intending Shri Amarnathji Yatris to embark on the pilgrimage only after obtaining, in their own interest, a valid Yatra Permit. This would ensure against any avoidable inconvenience to them. The CEO reiterated that Yatris not possessing valid Yatra Permits will not be able to proceed beyond the Nunwan and Baltal Base Camps.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 25 Jun 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 25 Jun 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 26 Jun 2012 00:00:00 IST