In yet another move to provide best-in-class facilities to the devotees of Shri Amarnathji, Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha laid the foundation stone of Office cum Yatri Niwas of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board here on Friday at Pantha Chowk, Srinagar.
The new facility would be built over 25 Kanal land at Pantha Chowk Srinagar in a period of 18 months. The Yatri Niwas once completed would accommodate more than 3000 pilgrims.
Speaking on the occasion, the Lieutenant Governor, who is also the Chairman of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, observed that the prestigious project is aimed at ensuring the comfortable stay of Shri Amarnathji Yatris at Srinagar who come from all over the world for the holy annual pilgrimage.
It will also act as an Information Centre for the guidance of pilgrims, besides many similar works would be completed for smooth conduct of the yatra, he added.
The government of J&K is initiating various services, along with the infrastructural development to provide a memorable experience to millions of devotees of Shri Amarnathji, the Lt Governor said
We are planning to construct Yatri Niwas in various parts of the UT, besides a permanent office and a bigger Yatri Niwas will soon come up at Jammu to facilitate a large number of visiting devotees. Another Yatri Niwas with the capacity to accommodate 3200 yatris is coming up at Chanderkote, District Ramban, added the Lt Governor.
With modern facilities and a conducive environment being created, the day is not far when the Yatris visiting Shri Amarnathji shrine would cross the 10 lakh mark which will also make a greater impact on the economy of J&K, the Lt Governor observed.
A study is also being conducted for exploring the feasibility of ropeway at Shri Amarnathji Shrine, he further added.
Nitishwar Kumar, Chief Executive officer of the Board termed the project as a historic development. This was a long pending demand from various organizations and stakeholders for having a dedicated Yatri Niwas for Shri Amarnathji Yatris, he added.
The CEO further highlighted the recent developments made by SASB for facilitating Shri Amarnathji Yatris.
The Shrine Board has also brought Darshan, Hawan, and Prasad facility under the virtual mode where the devotees of Lord Shiva from across the world can perform online virtual Puja and Hawan at the Holy Cave, and priests at the holy cave will offer it in the devotees’ name. Prasad will be subsequently delivered at the doorsteps of the devotees. For the first time, we have a 24×7 dedicated portal wherein the devotees can watch the live darshan of Holy Ice Lingam uninterruptedly through the Jio-TV live streams. These steps have been initiated in the wake of the cancellation of this year’s Yatra, said the CEO SASB.
The Shrine Board has already arranged for a live telecast of morning and evening Aarti from the holy Cave of Lord Shiva both on TV and digital platforms, he added.
Mahant Deependra Giri also spoke on the occasion and said that the upcoming Yatri Niwas is a much-needed facility to accommodate Shri Amarnathji yatris.
Earlier, the Lieutenant Governor launched “Shri Amarnath Ishwaram”, an iconic and signature video song on Shri Amarnathji and dedicated the same to the devotees of Shri Amarnathji on the auspicious occasion of Shravan Shivratri.
Released under the banner of T-Series, the video song was composed by Aman Pant, while devotees worldwide can experience the powerful Shiva mantra in the voice of renowned singer Sachet Tandon.
During his address, the Lt Governor observed that the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board’s devotional song reflects the divine journey of Lord Shiva with Mata Parvati to the Holy cave and narrates the route of the divine journey with the religious significance of places en route. This devotional track will also make the devotees feel spiritually connected with the divine Lord, he added.
On this occasion, the Lt Governor prayed for the well-being of the people of the UT.
Nitishwar Kumar, Chief Executive officer of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, and Anup Kumar Soni, Additional CEO SASB joined from the Holy Cave through virtual mode. Popular Singer, Sachet Tandon and Music Composer, Aman Pant also joined through video conferencing and shared their experience of working on this devotional video song.
Baseer Ahmad Khan, Advisor to the Lt Governor; Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Shaleen Kabra, Principal Secretary to the Government, Home Department; Dheeraj Gupta, Principal Secretary to the Government, H&UDD; Rohit Kansal, Principal Secretary, PDD; Sanjeev Verma, Commissioner/Secretary to the Government, Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment; Ranjan Prakash Thakur, Principal Secretary to Government, Industries & Commerce Department; Pandurang K. Pole, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir; Vijay Kumar, IGP Kashmir; Sarmad Hafeez, Administrative Secretary, Tourism Department; Board Members of SASB, besides other senior officers of Civil, Police, Shrine Board and the various religious organizations and NGOs attended the foundation laying ceremony of Yatri Niwas at Pantha Chowk—(KNO)