SAROOR
JAMMU: With two weeks left for the start of the 62-day long Shri Amarnath Yatra, the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board has opened the online booking for helicopter service to be available from Srinagar, Baltal and Pahalgam.
The pilgrimage to the shrine located at a height of 3,880 metre in the south Kashmir Himalayas begins on July 1.
A Shrine Board official said that the online booking service of helicopters for Amarnath Yatra 2023 has started and the service will be available from Srinagar, Baltal and Pahalgam routes.
“The service will definitely provide relief to elderly people and those having paucity of time can get this advantage,” said an official.
He stated that this year, though online helicopter booking started a bit late, the fare has not been hiked.
“There is no hike in fare this year and as of now more than two lakh devotees have registered themselves online for the yatra,” he said.
The official added that the helicopter booking is being done through accredited agents only and the official website of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB).
The Global Vectra Helicorp Limited and Arrow Aircraft Private Limited are the service operators for the Baltal route for which Rs 2800 will be charged from each passenger for one side and Rs 5600 per person for both sides.
Similarly, he said that services of Heritage Aviation Pvt Ltd are available for Pahalgam route for which Rs 4200 has been fixed for one way and Rs 8400 for both the ways.
Apart from this, the services of M S Pawan Hans Limited operators are hired from Srinagar to the holy cave for which Rs 10800 is fixed for Srinagar-Pahalgam-Srinagar route and Rs 11700 for Srinagar-Nilgrath-Srinagar route, said the official.
“More than four lakh pilgrims are expected this year during the yatra for which the administration is on toes to make it a success,” he said and added that preparations to welcome the pilgrims are in full swing and instructions have also been passed to complete all the arrangements by the respective districts from the gateway Lakhanpur to Kashmir between June 15 and 20.
Helicopter booking is done through affiliated agents and online from the official website of the Board.
Meanwhile, more than 2,900 people, who transport pilgrims on ponies, pithus and palkis during the Amarnath Yatra, have registered for extension of services ahead of the annual pilgrimage to the cave shrine, officials said.
The Yatra has two routes — the traditional 48-km route through Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag and the 14-km shorter but steep Baltal route in Ganderbal district of central Kashmir.
Reasi Assistant Labour Commissioner (ALC) said the registration process was on from last week after the department invited the service providers who are residents of Reasi.
“As many as 125 pony wallas, 1,046 pitthu wallas and 1,733 palki wallas have been registered till date. A total of 2,904 people have been registered,” the ALC said.
The registration counter for online registration has been set up in the ALC office, the official informed.
“Interested persons are requested to visit the ALC office for registration on all working days between 10 am to 4:30 pm along with the relevant documents,” the ALC said.
It was further informed that the district administration has initiated the online provision to ensure hassle-free registration of the service providers.
