No helicopter services during this year's Amarnath yatra, first since Pahalgam terror attack
There will be no helicopter service for Amarnath pilgrims on both the Pahalgam and Baltal routes this year, the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) announced on Wednesday.
The decision was taken by the SASB following an order by the Jammu and Kashmir government yesterday, declaring all routes to the Amarnath shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas as a no-flying zone.
The declaration banning all aviation platforms, including drones and balloons, during the duration of the yatra was taken by the state government on the advice of the Union Home Ministry.
'Competent authority has… declared all routes of the Shri Amarnathji Yatra – including both the Pahalgam and Baltal axes – as a 'No Flying Zone' from July 1 to August 10. Consequently, helicopter services for pilgrim travel shall not be available in the yatra area…,' the SASB notice read.
Yatris should reach the holy cave shrine from both South Kashmir's Pahalgam and North Kashmir's Baltal route on foot or by using ponies and palkis (palanquins), it added.
The yatra routes that have been declared as no-flying zones include Lakhanpur-Jammu-Qazigund-Srinagar-Sonamarg and Lakhanpur-Jammu-Qazigund-Pahalgam.
The annual yatra to the Amarnath shrine this year is beginning on July 3. Lakhs of pilgrims from across the country visit the shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas every year, for which the J&K government undertakes one of the biggest security exercises.
The administration and the SASB also undertake a massive exercise to arrange for the boarding and lodging of pilgrims, healthcare, transport and other arrangements during the yatra period.
This is the first yatra since the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam in which 25 tourists and a local ponywalla were killed. The incident had prompted a sweeping security crackdown across the Kashmir Valley and also led to an escalation of hostilities between India and Pakistan.
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