Yatri Niwas to be used as base camp in Jammu for upcoming Amarnath pilgrimage

The Yatri Niwas at Bhagwati Nagar here would be used as the base camp for the upcoming pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, an official said.

“The yatri Niwas is being prepared as the base camp for the Amarnath yatra with all necessary security arrangements,” he said.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration had decided to allow only 500 pilgrims per day by road from Jammu to the 3,880-metre high holy cave shrine of Amarnath during the yatra, which is likely to start from the Baltal track for two weeks later this month.

Earlier, the yatra was scheduled to commence from the twin tracks of Pahalgam in Anantnag and Baltal in Ganderbal on June 23 but was delayed due to the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic.

The Yatri Niwas, which served as the base camp for the annual pilgrimage in Jammu, was initially turned into administrative quarantine in March and later upgraded to a 500-bedded COVID care centre with all the required facilities to lower the pressure on the hospitals.

The official said the sprawling complex would be utilised as the base camp during the yatra period and later turned back into the COVID care centre. 

Image Credits: PTI