Amaranth Yatra: Horses registered, insured in Sonamarg

Ganderbal, June 16: With the annual Amarnath Yatra commencing from July 1, the authorities have started registration of horse owners along with the insurance of animals here in the Sonamarg area of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.
The registration of horses taking the pilgrims to the holy cave of Amarnath is going on, an official told Rising Kashmir.
He said this is not the first time that the insurance scheme for horses has been introduced by the Animal Husbandry Department. “This is going on for the last many years,” he said, adding that the health of the horses is being checked by experienced veterinarians.
The registration of horses in Sonamarg is being done by the Labour, Animal Husbandry and other departments simultaneously, the official said.
Many horse owners said that without the horse insurance policy, they had to suffer a lot, but this time they are happy. They said a band is worn on the horse’s ear on which the insurance number is officially written.
An official of the Animal Husbandry Department said the horse owners are officially given an insurance number which is stuck on the animal’s ear. Apart from this, doctors are also checking whether this horse is healthy or not for which they are given a certificate. “A horse that does not get a tag on its ear, will not be allowed to work in the Baltal Yatra base camp,” he said.
Till date, we have registered almost 8500 Ponywalas, Pithowalas and Palkiwalas in Sonamarg for the upcoming yatra for which the owners are asked for Aadhaar card, bank account and other important documents along with police verification, an official of the Labour Department said.
The 62-day-long Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra will commence on July 01 and will culminate on August 31, 2023.