Chairman of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board reviews
Shri Amarnath Yatra-2010 arrangements
Over-flies the Yatra route
Srinagar (Kashmir), May 24 – The Governor, Mr. N. N. Vohra, who is the Chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, today visited Pahalgam and took stock of the arrangements being put in place at the Nunwan Base Camp for the ensuing Shri Amarnathji Yatra to facilitate the pilgrims.
On return from Pahalgam, the Governor over-flew the Chandanwari-Sheshnag-Panchtarni-Sangam-Baltal track to assess the level of snowfall and present snow melt, with a view to assessing the time frame of the preparatory works getting completed in time.
The Governor would be undertaking weekly review meetings with the CEO and all other concerned officers to ensure the timely completion of all arrangements.
The Governor, accompanied by Ms. Sunita Narain, Member of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) and well-known environmentalist and Chief Executive Officer of the Board, Mr. Raj Kumar Goyal, spent over three hours at the Nunwan Base Camp and discussed in detail the arrangements being made for the Yatris.
The Governor took on the spot stock of the present status of the facilities at the Nunwan Base Camp and those in the pipeline in the Pahalgam-Chandanwari sector. He held discussions with Sheikh Mushtaq Ahmad, Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag and all the District level officers of the Power, Public Health, Roads and Buildings and the other concerned officers about the facilities required to be created for the smooth conduct of the Yatra. While reviewing the pace of the on-going work for the establishment of the various logistical and other arrangements, he directed the CEO of the Board and all the concerned authorities to ensure completion of all work by about the 20th June.
As regards the facilities at the Nunwan Camp, the Governor inspected every area of the Camp for nearly two hours, accompanied by Ms. Narain, the CEO, the Deputy Commissioner and other officers. He emphasized that as soon as weather opens up the work on the clearance of the track and at the camping sites should be taken up on a war footing.
The Governor reviewed all the sanitation related arrangements under implementation at the Nunwan Base Camp, along with Ms. Sunita Narain. He asked the CEO to prepare a comprehensive site plan of the Camp so that the various usage areas are clearly demarcated for being allocated to different service providers like langarwalas, shopkeepers, tentwalas, ponywalas etc.
The Governor, particularly instructed that all the required sanitation measures should be effectively enforced to ensure that all flows from the Camp have been properly treated before discharge into the water bodies. He directed that a proper Monitoring Protocol for monitoring the discharges should be worked out before the commencement of the Yatra.
The Governor also reviewed the progress already made on the cleaning of the entire area by way of collection of solid waste to ensure the conservation of ecology and environment. He emphasized that environment and ecology must be maintained and preserved by taking all possible measures, particularly timely collection and treatment. He stressed the use of plastic shedders for disposal of plastic bottles and other plastic materials and segregation of waste materials for appropriate treatment.
The Shrine Board and each of the various concerned Government agencies are being geared up for making necessary arrangements at the Base Camps and all along both the routes to the Cave Shrine. Due emphasis is being laid on the preservation and conservation of ecology and environment of the area.
As regards the high importance to be given to the preservation of ecology and environment in the Yatra area, the Governor said that the technology to achieve this vital objective has been upgraded for Yatra 2010 and will continue to be reviewed even during the Yatra period. He was referring to the Sanitation Pilot Projects being executed at the Baltal and Nunwan Base Camps for treating and managing all kinds of wastes.
The Governor said that a practical Protocol for monitoring the liquid wastes would be put into force before the commencement of the Yatra and the environment would be maintained by taking all possible measures, particularly by ensuring the timely collection and treatment of all kinds of wastes. He said that shedders would be used for the disposal of plastic bottles and other plastic materials and segregation of waste materials for appropriate treatment.
Among those present in the meeting were the Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag, Sheikh Mushtaq Ahmad, Deputy Inspector General of Police, South Kashmir, Dr. Kamal Saini, Additional Chief Executive Officer of the Board, Mr. Saugat Biswas, Chief Executive Officer, Pahalgam Development Authority, Mr. A. W. Tak and various other officers.
Meanwhile, Ms. Sunita Narain, accompanied by the CEO of the Board, Mr. Raj Kumar Goyal, had last evening visited the Baltal Base Camp to review the measures being taken for ensuring effective sanitation on all fronts. Ms. Narain gave several suggestions in this behalf which would be implemented speedily to achieve the desired results.
|
