SRINAGAR: To guarantee a seamless and spiritually enriching journey for Yatris during SANJY-2026, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Anshul Garg, presided over a comprehensive review meeting on Saturday to assess arrangements at base camps along the route to the Holy Cave.
During the meeting, The Div Com issued a series of directives for early preparations for the upcoming annual Shri Amarnathji Yatra.
The Divisional Commissioner stressed the need for optimal utilization of allocated funds to enhance facilities for pilgrims. Departments were instructed to present detailed action plans for SANJY-2026, initiate tenders in advance, complete tasks within set deadlines, and develop realistic cost estimates.
Emphasizing the Tourism Department’s pivotal role as the coordinating agency for SANJY, he mandated ensuring accountability among all stakeholder departments.
For the ease of pilgrim registration, concerned authorities were directed to increase staff at RFID registration counters. Additionally, the Animal Husbandry and Labour Departments were tasked to collaborate for RFID tagging of service providers and ponies.
BEACON was tasked with installing crash barriers along the Pahalgam–Chandanwari stretch and the Baltal route, and constructing shelter sheds for security forces along the paths.
Operationalization of control rooms, including ICCC, and dissemination of mitigation plans among agencies were also reviewed during the meeting.
Furthermore, there were instructions for increasing camp capacities and installing headcount cameras at designated parking areas.
To ensure smooth movement of SRTC buses during SANJY-2026, Police authorities were instructed to facilitate seamless circulation of buses after yatries disembark.
The Divisional Commissioner also assessed the progress of projects by R&B, PHE, and KPDCL, emphasizing adherence to timelines. Arrangements for the supply of essential items, such as ration and firewood, to the yatra camps were also reviewed.
Special emphasis was placed on sanitation at camps and routes, positioning fire tenders strategically, installing signages and display screens, and expanding telecom coverage in shadow areas by communication agencies.
The meeting highlighted the administration’s dedication to advance planning, inter-departmental coordination, and service enhancement to ensure a secure, efficient, and well-organized pilgrimage during SANJY-2026.
The meeting was attended by the Commissioner SMC; Deputy Commissioners of Ganderbal and Bandipora; relevant SSPs, Additional Deputy Commissioners of Anantnag, Srinagar, and Budgam; and officers from FCS&CA, SRTC, Tourism, ULB, RDD, Rural Sanitation, Information, KPDCL, R&B, PHE, NHIDCL, NHAI, Labour, Animal Husbandry, as well as representatives from Jio, Airtel, BSNL, and G-Max.