Amarnath Yatra is a symbol of collective culture of India, J-K: Union Minister Jitendra Singh

Udhampur (J-K): Union minister Jitendra Singh on Monday said the annual Amarnath Yatra is a symbol of the collective culture of the country and Jammu and Kashmir and was not a political issue.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a public rally organised by the BJP here to highlight the achievements of the Narendra Modi-led government over the past nine years, the minister, who is also the local MP, expressed confidence that a large number of devotees will join the pilgrimage this year.

"Amarnath Yatra is not a political issue. It is a symbol of the collective culture of the country and Jammu and Kashmir. The Hindu devotees join the yatra in large numbers and are welcomed by Muslims of Kashmir who also made arrangements for them," the minister said.

He said the tradition needs to be further strengthened instead of playing politics over it and dividing society.

"I am fully confident that the yatra will attract pilgrims in large numbers from across the country," Singh said.

Besides the union minister, J-K BJP president Ravinder Raina and several other senior leaders, including former legislators, addressed the rally.

Singh along with Raina released a booklet, giving a briefing on some of the major works carried out by the government in the Udhampur parliamentary constituency.

The yatra to the 3,880-metre-high holy cave in south Kashmir Himalayas is scheduled to commence on July 1 from two tracks -- the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the 14-km shorter but steep Baltal route in Ganderbal district.

The minister said the Udhampur constituency is the most developed among the 550 Lok Sabha seats in the country having seen tremendous development in the last nine years.

"The Udhampur-Doda-Kathua' parliamentary constituency is the only constituency in India that has three medical colleges with the best infrastructure and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is also located in this constituency, making it the best in India with the state-of-the-art health care facilities," Singh said.

The minister claimed that the constituency has earned its name in the country and in the world as the birthplace of the purple revolution', which has introduced Agri-tech start-ups not only in Jammu and Kashmir but across the country.

"This parliamentary constituency has all the potential to contribute to the start-up movement promoted by PM Modi," he said.

Enumerating various infrastructural developments that have taken place over the last many years in this constituency, the minister said the Chenab Bridge, the highest railway bridge in the world, and Shyama Prasad Mookherjee tunnel, the longest road tunnel in India, are located in this constituency, making it an infrastructural marvel in the country.

In terms of road and highway development, Singh said the Vande-Bharat Express from Katra to Delhi, North India's first-ever cable-stayed bridge Atal Setu and the first express road corridor from Delhi to Katra via Kathua, the new national highway from Lakhanpur-Bani-Basohli-Doda via Chattargala Tunnel has made this constituency the best connected, leading to its tremendous development compared to the other constituencies in the country.

He said with the establishment of an Inter-Modal Station (IMS) at Katra, a world-class state-of-the-art project in this constituency will not only improve the travelling experience of the pilgrims visiting Mata Vaishno Devi shrine but will open numerous opportunities in terms of employment and trade for the people of this constituency.