KL Report

SRINAGAR

More than 23,000 unregistered pilgrims or those with registration for later dates were turned back from various access control gates in the first two days of the yatra.

Sources said a significant number of pilgrims succeeded in breaking through the access control gate at Chandanwari on first day of the pilgrimage on Friday.

However, officials of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) did not respond to the queries about the incident.

The board, in a release on Saturday, said it has set up 14 current registration counters at Pantha Chowk and TRC Nowgam for unregistered pilgrims to get registration.

Access control from the base camps has been strengthened this year on the directions of Supreme Court, which endorsed the recommendations of the Special High Powered Committee including not allowing any unregistered pilgrims to proceed towards the cave shrine.

While the helpline established by the SASB is at best dysfunctional with no information provided even about the yatra, the chief executive officer and Additional CEO have refused to entertain queries from the media personnel.

“I cannot be answering questions from media every other minute. Please have mercy on us. We will be issuing press release every day in the evening,” CEO of the SASB NK Choudhary said.

The Additional CEO PP Singh said only the CEO of the board is authorised to speak to the media on the yatra matters.

Some media personnel, who had gone to Pahalgam yesterday to cover the yatra, alleged that they were denied entry into the base camp area and asked to seek written permission from the SASB.

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