Srinagar: Lt General Rajeev Chaudhry, Directorate General Border Roads (DGBR) visited Baltal and Chandanwari in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday and inspected the ongoing maintenance work of Amarnath Yatra tracks by Border Road organisation (BRO), said an official statement.
During his visit, Chaudhry commended the ‘Karamyogis’ working under ‘Project Beacon’ for the restoration of the Yatra Track before the commencement of the Amarnath Yatra 2023. He assured everyone that despite losing precious time due to inclement weather during April – May, the tracks will be made available to the Civil Administration by 15 June as desired.
Chaudhry further informed that the restoration works for further improvement of the tracks would continue even after the completion of Yatra this year to facilitate better quality tracks for subsequent years.
It is to be noted that Amarnath Yatra tracks were handed over to BRO in September 2022 for further maintenance and upgradation as earlier, the Yatra track from Baltal to Holy Cave was maintained by PWD (R&B) and the one from Chandanwari to Holy Cave was maintained by Pahalgam Development Authority, read the official statement from PRO, (Defence) Srinagar.
However, restoration works only in March 2023 after the necessary funds were released to BRO by the government. For now, eight dozers, excavators and almost 1100 labours are working tirelessly to complete the work on time, read the statement further.
The restoration work involves snow clearance, widening of the track, restoration of all footbridges, fixing of handrails, protection works at slide-prone stretches and construction of breast walls and retaining walls for protection of the track.
Though, unprecedented snow and rain in the higher reaches of Kashmir during April and May have slowed the progress of work. However, BRO is making all possible efforts to complete the task by 15 Jun as the Yatra is set to commence on July 1 this year.
