Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra on Friday called for undertaking long term measures for
effective management of pilgrims visiting the Mata Vaishno
Devi shrine with the number of devotees expected to touch one
crore mark by the end of this year.
"There is need for most careful planning, by all the
stakeholders, for providing adequate facilities, including
accommodation, transportation, medical care and sanitation,
other necessary services to the progressively increasing
number of Yatris to the two important Shrines in the state,"
Vohra said after releasing a souvenir brought out by the Baba
Amarnath and Budha Amarnath Yatri Niyas here last evening.
"Number of pilgrims to Mata Vaishno Devi had increased by
over eight lakh and the total number of pilgrims this year is
expected to cross 10 million mark by end of this year," he
said.
The Governor, who is the Chairman of both Shri
Amarnathji Shrine Board and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine
Board, observed that this year over 6.33 lakh Yatris have paid
obeisance at the holy Cave Shrine of Amarnath.
"A good number of the pilgrims, as well as the
tourists, could be encouraged to visit other places of
religious and tourist importance in the state, provided
adequate infrastructure facilities are developed for catering
to such numbers," Vohra said.
The Governor said that in the Amarnathji Yatra 106
pilgrims had lost their lives this year, almost all of them
due to medical reasons, and stressed that the safety and
security of the pilgrims continues to remain the prime concern
of the Shrine Board.
PTI
