Amarnath Yatra :Deliberations held with stakeholders for fixing of rates

Anantnag |May, 20 : A meeting was held Friday at Dak Bungalow Anantnag under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner (DC) Anantnag, Dr PiyushSingla for fixing of rates of ponies and lodging facilities during annual amaranth yatra.
Officers from concerned line departments and members from various concerned associations were present during the meeting.
The rates for lodging facilities were discussed during the meeting. A detailed discussion was held on items provided to the yatries and the rates for the same. The stakeholders assured the authorities that services as promised will be delivered on the notified rates. Other issues including cleanliness in the accommodations, contingency preparations in case of adverse weather conditions etc were also deliberated upon.
The DC issued directions to AD Pahalgam, NT Pahalgam, and EO MC Pahalgam to inspect the quality of camping equipment being supplied and submit their observations within a week.
Regarding registration of pony wallas, various formalities for registration including police verification, e-Shram Registration, blood groups etc were discussed and the concerned agencies were directed by DC to hold joint camps and expedite the registration process. They were asked to hold awareness camps and share the list of documents required with the pony wallas through various mediums.
The participants also deliberated on the availability of a prepaid facility for hiring of ponies. Logistical arrangements that have to be put in place for operationalizing the prepaid facility during annual amaranth yatra were discussed during the meeting. Tourism department was directed to operate the prepaid system and set up kiosks at various places on the route.
Dr Singla said that prepaid facilities will impede any tendency of overcharging by service providers.
The rates for hiring of ponies from Nunwan and other base camps to the holy cave were discussed thoroughly and appropriate adjustments were made after taking the opinion of all stakeholders on board.
Representatives from Dandi and Pithoo associations also put forth their requests which were deliberated upon and rates fixed.
The meeting was attended by ADC Anantnag, CEO PDA, ACR, SDM Pahalgam, CAHO Anantnag, DSP DAR, ALC, AD Food, AD Tourism and representatives from lodging, pony wallah, dandi and pithoo association.