Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, on Tuesday performed puja for the commencement of construction work for Yatri Niwas and Disaster Management Centre here.
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.
Puri 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, he added.
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.
Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we are working with greater commitment and devotion to scale up the facilities including lodging, transportation, medical, and better connectivity for the safe and hassle-free pilgrimage of the devotees, said the Lt Governor.
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.