Heavy rush of pilgrims expected during Amarnath Yatra: Min Jitendra Singh

Jammu: Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday said heavy rush of pilgrims is expected during the upcoming annual yatra to the 3,880-metre high holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas.

The two-month-long pilgrimage is scheduled to commence on July 1 from the twin tracks — traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and 14-km shorter but steep Baltal route in Ganderbal district.

“The Amarnath Yatra is expected to attract a heavy footfall this year,” the minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office told reporters on the sidelines of a function in Kathua district.

He said Kashmir witnessed a tourism boom last year with a record 1.75 crore

tourists visiting the place to enjoy its beauty.

“People mostly used to think of hotels and houseboats during their vacation to Kashmir but this time homestay was successfully introduced to meet the heavy rush,” Singh said.

On the recently concluded G-20 meet in Srinagar, he said the successful event debunked the narrative that Jammu and Kashmir is not yet safe for a visit.

“Jammu and Kashmir is bestowed with natural beauty in abundance. If you ask anyone around the world where he wants to go in India, the reply will be Taj Mahal and J&K. However, a narrative

was created that J&K is not yet safe for a visit, which was, however, negated by the successful holding of the G-20 meet,” he said.

He said Jammu and Kashmir is on the path of renewed growth and development and successful culmination of the G-20 meeting in Srinagar is a testament to this change as the government is committed to transforming the Union Territory.