Shadow Correspondent
Srinagar, June 10 :
The Jammu and Kashmir government will deploy a fleet of passenger buses of the JK Road Transport Corporation (JKRTC) to ferry yatris from Jammu to Kashmir valley during the Amarnath yatra, which is beginning July 3.
The yatris arrive at Yatri Niwas in Bhagwati Nagar in Jammu from different states of the country and after registration and security checks they are ferried in batches to Transit Camp in Srinagar outskirts in Pantha Chowk. From this transit camp, yatris are cross checked for verification and then sent onwards to Baltal and Pahalgam routes to the Amarnath cave in Himalayas in Pahalgam.
The Managing Director of Jammu and Kashmir government’s Road Transport Corporation Rakesh Kumar Srangal said the corporation has kept a fleet of 250 buses, but “we can deploy more or less depending on the flow of the yatris”.
RTC has a fleet of around 500 buses which ply of the 20 district roads of the Union Territory. During the yatra period that spans from July 3 to August 9, the RTC has to cut the number of buses from its fleet for the Amarnath yatris. “We have a fleet of nearly 500. Half of them will be available for public transport to maintain the routes. We are managing it properly,” Srangal told ETV Bharat.
From the beginning of the yatra, the buses ferry hundreds of yatris in batches from Bhagwati Nagar camp to Srinagar via Srinagar-Jammu National Highway in convoys which are guarded by security forces and Jammu and Kashmir police personnel. In case of wear and tear or breakdown of any bus, additional buses are deployed with the convoys as backup so that the yatris do not suffer.
The 38-day yatra will begin on July 3 and conclude on August 9. Devotees from all over India are expected to travel via two main routes: the traditional 48-kilometre mountainous route from Pahalgam in Anantnag district and the 14-kilometre steeper climb from Baltal in Ganderbal district.
For the arrival of the yatris, preparations are in full swing at the Panthachowk Transit Camp. The Jammu and Kashmir government has deployed teams of employees from Srinagar administration to set up a control room and oversee facilities for the upcoming pilgrims.
“We are completing the preparations like installing and refurbishing the staying halls, setting up registration counters, washing and bathing facilities. Sanitation workers are cleaning the whole-camp site; engineers from PWD and Flood Control have done their work for smooth stay of the yatris,” Manav Dhar, Incharge officer at the Transit Camp told ETV Bharat.
Following the Pahalgam attack, the Ministry of Home Affairs has approved the deployment of around 580 CAPF companies (which is over 42,000 personnel) across Jammu and Kashmir for safe conduct of the yatra, an official in the security establishment told ETV Bharat on the condition of anonymity.
The Jammu and Kashmir government is also banking on smooth conduct of the yatra and hoping that the yatra will help revive tourism which was battered by the Pahalgam attack. Former chief minister and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said a successful Amarnath Yatra will help send a message to the rest of the country that there is peace in Kashmir.
