Read about final preparations for the Chhadi Mubarak, as well as more on the take of Mahant Deependra Giri on how and why yatra through Pahalgam route contitutes the only legitimate way of doing this holy pilgrimage.
Some may take the recent comment by Amarnath shrine custodian, Mahant Deependra Giri as part of his tussle with the official shrine board - SASB. However it does merit some thought. Is really getting to Amarnath, by whatever means, the end? Or going through the hardship of climbing up to get to Him also part [...]
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), J and K Circle operates its service in Pahalgam, and surrounding areas. During the times of Amarnath Yatra, telecom centres with STD/ISD facilities are operational at Chandanwari, Sheshnag, Panjtarni, holy cave of Amarnath and Baltal.
The BSNL Control Rooms at Pahalgam can be reached at (01936) 3298. The PCOs are Panjtarni, [...]
Travelogue - travel to Kashmir (Copyright Pahalgam.com)
Check out the drive in Pictures All thumbnails | Flash Slideshow
Date: June 10, 2006 -> We started in a car from Jalandhar - which is about 5 hours of road or rail travel away from New Delhi and is one of the promiment, prosperous and big cities of the [...]
There would be nothing better than a sign of normalcy returning to Kashmir than normal tourists thronging to remote secluded trekking routes. Its beginning to happen. Makes me remember my trek to Kolahai in 1988 - and the area was declared out of bounds next year, especially since the episode of kidnap of foreign tourists [...]
With the authorities squabbling on permits and ecology, etc., the most important aspect of River Rafting in Lidder in Pahalgam - SAFETY has kind of taken a back seat. And it came out glaringly yesterday when a group of tourists could not maintain control of their raft, and while many got injured, one of the rourists actually succumbed to her injuries (see the detailed news item below).
A very expensive lesson learnt? Well, if its even a lesson learnt. Hopefully PDA/Tourism Department would streamline how they select travel agencies and more importantly their personnel. Even more important is designation of certain streches of river from Type 1 to 6 depending upon the difficulty level. Tourists can then cautiously choose where they want to raft, as well as sign on a non-liability paper (which is a norm through out the world).
This incident is a setback, but hopefully it will not reverse the trend and people will continue to enthusiastically enjoy the thrill of rafting in Pahalgam waters. And hats off to the local good samaritans who saved seven of the group in this incident.
Noteworthy is that this is the first casualty since the rafting was introduced in Lidder during the past three years.
For 2008, a registration fee of Rs 15 has been fixed while Rs 24 is charged by way of an insurance policy to the pilgrims.
With the annual Amarnath yatra set to commence from June 18, registration of devotees has started across the country.
News - The Telegraph, Calcutta: Srinagar, May 22: Planning to take off on a soul-cleansing journey to Amarnath within the next few days? Tarry a while.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has deferred the official date of the yearly pilgrimage as it wants to steer clear of any controversy over early melting of the Shiva lingam.
The [...]
In a decision of great significance to tourists and locals alike, the authorities agreed to let tourists and Amarnath Yatris stay in Pahalgam area hotels.
Sight seeing, pony-rides or do-nothing vacationing aside, what really can Pahalgam offer to visiting tourists? Come to think of it, Pahalgam has its own gold mine in the form of meandering river lidder, and miles and miles of it both from Aru and Chandanwari which offer a great, world class opportunity for river rafting. Thus far, it seems like the officials have failed to realize what they are sitting on. It has been left onto small time entrepreneurs to harness this opportunity. And like the story of rest of India, they are able to pull through, inspite of all the odds. But only till a point. Objections are now being raised from many quarters.
I am optimistic that its only a matter of time when the Pahalgam Development Authority, or Tourism Department or the Fisheries Department will put their act together and lay out a holistic plan which will benefit both the locals and the tousists, and put Pahalgam on the world map of premier river rafting destinations.
Long duration of Amarnath Yatra is anyways creating tourism related disruptions in Pahalgam as many casual toursits shy away from the place during those weeks. Now come the sudden step of Amarnath Shrine Board constructing pre-fabricated huts at Nunwan, on the outskirts of Pahalgam. Long term this could start effecting the center of gravity of toursist economy of Pahalgam to outside of Pahalgam, towards Nunwan. While constructing lavatories could make sense if SASB persists with keeping Amarnath yatris out of Pahalgam in a secluded (and perhaps secure) Yatri Camp at Nunwan, the whole idea really needs to be abandoned so that people coming to Amarnath Yatra from all over the country can visit the hill station as normal tourists and enjoy the beauty of it. Of course with it would come the issues of ecological degradation of Pahalgam valley by activities of Yatris, but thats a different problem, and SASB or other wise men can surely arrive at solutions to it. Anyhow, this is a release from KHAROF, typically harsh in wordings, but nevertheless in the right direction. Its from the Gk News network.
Pre-militancy days, the event list of Pahalgam used to be lined up with which bollywood crew was coming for shooting of which movie, and when. For tourists, getting to see in real the actors and the crew was an added incentive. Well, the spirit seems to be coming back to the valley of shephards.
One of the bigger deals with undertaking any pilgrimage with thousands of other people is to be able be reasonably manage needs arounds bathrooms and lavatories. If you are in the basecamp at Nunwan in Pahalgam, or camp in Panchtarni or Sheshnag, no other problem is more exacerbated than this. The scene at 6:00 has to be seen to be believed. People sit out there in open, and feces are littered all over - without many reservations, people sit anywhere - simply because there is no choice. Help is on way…
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