JAMMU, Jun 06: Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha today said that the J&K administration is fully capable of dealing with any challenge while assuring that all security arrangements are being put in place.
“Challenges do come but now the J&K administration is fully capable of successfully handling the challenges and dealing with any kind of situation,” the LG Manoj Sinha said in response to a question by mediapersons about the security arrangements ahead of the annual Amarnath Yatra beginning on July 1.
Sinha said a new J&K is shaping up after the successful conduct of G-20 meeting at Srinagar. “A new J&K (Naya Jammu and Kashmir) is shaping up after the successful conduct of G-20 meeting, Sinha said and reiterated, “Security forces are fully capable of dealing with any challenge”.
Earlier, the LG Manoj Sinha and Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Housing and Urban Affairs performed puja for the commencement of construction work for Yatri Niwas and Disaster Management Centre at Jammu.
The facility is being developed at Majeen Jammu under the CSR initiative of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) at a cost of Rs 51 crore.
Designed by School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, the Yatri Niwas is set for completion within 18-month time period.
The Lt Governor Manoj Sinha congratulated the devotees of Shri Amarnath ji, officials of the Shrine Board, all stakeholders and organizations associated with Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra and the people of Jammu region for the commencement of the construction work of the Yatri Niwas.
“I am immensely grateful to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri for Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board’s Yatri Niwas at Jammu.
This new facility will ease the lives of devotees, said the Lt Governor.
The Lt Governor expressed gratitude to the Union Petroleum Minister for approving 4-5 more Yatri Niwas under CSR initiatives for Baba Shri Amarnath Ji’s devotees.
He also expressed gratitude to Arun Kumar Singh, Chairman ONGC and lauded the Board of Directors of ONGC for their outstanding support in realizing the dream of Yatri Niwas and Disaster Management Center at Jammu.
The Lt Governor impressed upon the executing agencies and all the workers engaged in the construction work to develop the Yatri Niwas as a centre of spirituality which will provide divine experience to the devotees.
“Baba Amarnath’s holy pilgrimage is the highest peak of spiritual experience. The construction work of Yatri Niwas should be carried out with complete devotion and a grateful heart,” the Lt Governor said.
“We are making dedicated efforts to strengthen communication connectivity. Telecommunication towers, Cell on Wheels are being installed by the telecom service providers, besides Army is laying an Optical fiber cable from Sonamarg to Holy Cave,” he added.
Last year, the maximum number of 3.65 lakh pilgrims visited the Holy Shrine of Shri Amarnathji, since 2015. As many as 120 additional bank branches were added last year to facilitate the registration of the pilgrims and this year the registration facility is being provided through 542 branches across the country, he added.
In 2021, the initiatives of online Darshan, hawan and prasad were taken to facilitate the devotees. Moreover, Yatri Niwas at Chandrakot which was inaugurated in June last year accommodated around 50,000 devotees, he further said.
The Lt Governor said the work for upgradation of Yatra track has been done on a war footing and the work was resumed after snow clearance in March this year.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister said the Yatri Niwas will help in providing accommodation for 30,000 Shri Amarnathji pilgrims every year and will be particularly helpful for yatris from weaker sections. It will help in traffic management and ensure a seamless experience.
Among others present on the occasion, Bharat Bhushan, Chairperson DDC Jammu; Jugal Kishore Sharma, Member of Parliament; Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Arun Kumar Singh, Chairman, ONGC; Dr Mandeep Kumar Bhandari, CEO, Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board; Padma Prof. Vishwa Murti Shastri; members of SASB; senior officials of police and Civil Administration and a large number of people were present.
