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J&K to set up permanent board for Amarnath Yatra
Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday informed the Delhi High Court that a permanent Amarnath Yatra Welfare Board will be set up by it soon to oversee the arrangements for the pilgrims to the cave shrine every year.
Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday informed the Delhi High Court that a permanent Amarnath Yatra Welfare Board will be set up by it soon to oversee the arrangements for the pilgrims to the cave shrine every year.
Jammu and Kashmir government is planning to constitute an autonomous Amarnath Yatra Welfare Board to take care of the entire yatra process every year, state government counsel anis suhrawardy told a division bench comprising chief justice Arijit Passayat and justice D K Jain, while hearing a petition challenging imposition of restrictions on pilgrims this year.
The bench directed the state government counsel to file an affidavit by September 26 giving details about the nature and functions of the board, besides a specific date by which it would come into existence.
The court also sought information about the constraints on opening of the alternative route to Amarnath to minimise the rush via Pahlgam, and what steps had been taken to implement recommendations of a committee in this regard.
Suhrawardy told the court that all formalities for the yatra next year would be conducted by the board and the state government would provide necessary help to it. Conducting a peaceful yatra and provide all basic facilities to the pilgrims is the prime concern of the state government, he said.
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL), filed at the start of the yatra this year in July, had alleged that J&K government by making registration of names compulsory for the pilgrims at seven specified centres in the country before proceeding to Jammu, this year had restricted the number of yatris to about one lakh as compared to 1,73 lakh last year.
Bureau Report
Jammu and Kashmir government is planning to constitute an autonomous Amarnath Yatra Welfare Board to take care of the entire yatra process every year, state government counsel anis suhrawardy told a division bench comprising chief justice Arijit Passayat and justice D K Jain, while hearing a petition challenging imposition of restrictions on pilgrims this year.
The bench directed the state government counsel to file an affidavit by September 26 giving details about the nature and functions of the board, besides a specific date by which it would come into existence.
The court also sought information about the constraints on opening of the alternative route to Amarnath to minimise the rush via Pahlgam, and what steps had been taken to implement recommendations of a committee in this regard.
Suhrawardy told the court that all formalities for the yatra next year would be conducted by the board and the state government would provide necessary help to it. Conducting a peaceful yatra and provide all basic facilities to the pilgrims is the prime concern of the state government, he said.
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL), filed at the start of the yatra this year in July, had alleged that J&K government by making registration of names compulsory for the pilgrims at seven specified centres in the country before proceeding to Jammu, this year had restricted the number of yatris to about one lakh as compared to 1,73 lakh last year.
Bureau Report