National Conference President and Member of Parliament Farooq Abdullah visited the Baltal area in Ganderbal district to review the status of preparations made for the upcoming Amarnath Yatra. The 62-day-long annual pilgrimage commences on July 1 from the twin routes of Pahalgam, in South Kashmir, and Baltal, in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district. Farooq expressed his hope that the yatra would begin smoothly and without any untoward incidents or natural calamities during the two-month-long pilgrimage period.
Farooq visited the hospital located on the Baltal route and expressed his satisfaction with the arrangements made for the visiting pilgrims. He noted that the 100-bed base hospital with an Intensive Care Unit facility was one of the best health facilities for the pilgrims to receive medical care. However, he also observed that the number of female nurses at the hospital was low and urged the authorities to take measures to increase the staff.
Farooq made sure to mention that other health facilities along the way to the holy shrine were also equipped to provide medical aid to the pilgrims. He prayed for the safe completion of the yatra and hoped that all pilgrims would receive blessings from the holy shrine.
This review of the preparations for the Amarnath Yatra comes at a time when the Jammu and Kashmir government is taking numerous steps to ensure the safety and security of the visiting pilgrims. The government has already declared the area around the Amarnath shrine as a no-drone zone to prohibit the use of drones, citing security concerns.
