With a view to making life easier for Amarnath pilgrims, the twin routes through Pahalgam and Sonamarg will be broadened with railings by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), as per a report in The Hindu.
The journey to the shrine can be hostile, with the altitude hitting the 13,000-feet mark.
“We are deploying our machines and teams in places where we are expecting a landslide. The Centre has given us permission to improve border roads,” the publication quoted Lt. Gen. Rajeev Chaudhry, Director-General of the BRO, as saying.
BRO takes over maintenance of tracks
The twin tracks, for which the railings would be built, will be maintained by the BRO, which took over the job last September. It can be noted that the Public Works Department (PWD) of the Jammu and Kashmir was in charge of maintaining the Baltal shrine track in Ganderbal district while the Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA) was in charge of the Pahalgam shrine route in the district of Anantnag.
Pilgrims presently walk 20 km from Chandanwari up to the cave shrine in Pahalgam while it takes 14 km from Baltal to the shrine.
“The basic scope of work (on the tracks) involved snow clearance, widening of the track, restoration of all footbridges, fixing of handrails, protection works at slide prone stretches and construction of breast walls and retaining walls for protection of the tracks,” the publication quoted a BRO spokesman as saying.
Nitin Gadkari announces road project
As the work goes on, it might be recalled that Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, had announced a road project to the shrine in Pahalgam. It was J&K Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha who had requested it.
5-lakh pilgrims this year
As the yatra begins on July 1 this year, officials expect more than 5 lakh pilgrims to pay a visit to the shrine. But much before the yatra begins, the track restoration will be completed by June 15.
Challenges to the restoration
The restoration work is not an easy one. It has faced a lot of slowness, all thanks to the ‘unprecedented’ snow and rain in the upper parts of Kashmir in April and May. However, in spite of the stiff challenges, the BRO will meet the June 15 deadline.
Security to be upped for pilgrims
As the pilgrimage season will see a lot of rush, security has been upped. Quick response teams will be positioned at regular intervals to deal with natural disasters.
“A coordinated security response grid has been set up to ensure a safe and incident-free Amarnath yatra this year,” the publication quoted Inspector General of BSF, Kashmir frontier, Ashok Yadav, as saying.
As far as infiltration is concerned, the BSF, with the Army, will keep an eye on the routes, for which a detailed mapping would be done.
The registration for the pilgrimage began in April.