Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha became the first Chairman of the Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board (SASB) in recent times to undertake the pilgrimage to the Holy Cave via the Baltal track
.
During the visit, the Lieutenant Governor inspected the maintenance, upgradation, and widening of the Yatra track and took a first-hand assessment of the arrangements made by
SASB and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO)
to ensure the safety and comfort of pilgrims. He commended the remarkable infrastructure improvements made by both agencies.
Highlighting post-Yatra 2024 developments, the Lieutenant Governor said significant attention has been given to enhancing track safety on both the Baltal and Pahalgam routes
.
He announced that the alternate route from Chandanwari to Pissutop
will be made available for the 2025 Yatra, equipped with safety hand railings and proper surfacing to support on-foot pilgrims and ease crowd management along the Chandanwari axis.
Safety hand railings have already been installed along
vulnerable stretches of the Pahalgam route. Additionally,
unstable formations
along key segments—such as
Railpathri-Brarimarg, Kalimata-Lower Cave, Panjtarni-Sangam-Holy Cave, and Chandanwari-Pissutop-Zozibal —have been stabilized using gabion walls, breast walls, ILC fences, and wire mesh installations to prevent accidents from shooting stones.
Further,
granular sub-base material
has been applied to slippery sections, and
ILCB tiles
have been laid on high-risk segments of both routes:
Domail – Railpathri – Brarimarg
on the Baltal route
Chandanwari – Pissutop – Zozibal – MG Top
on the Pahalgam route
These developments aim to provide
a safer and smoother pilgrimage experience
for all devotees ahead of the upcoming Amarnath Yatra season.
