Road to Amarnath cave in Kashmir repaired

Srinagar, May 20 (UNI) A damaged stretch between Pahalgam and Chandanwari on way to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir has been repaired, more than a month before the commencement of the two-month-long pilgrimage.

Jammu and Kashmir Roads and Buildings Minister Gulchain Singh Charak visited the damaged site of the Chandanwari road at Pahalgam and opened it for traffic.

The work on the damaged portion of the road, taken up on a war-footing at a cost of more than Rs 74 lakh sometime ago, was completed yesterday.

About 1720 ft road stretch was totally washed away during the incessant rains in March this year.

Mr Charak directed the engineers to accelerate the work on widening and upgrading the road from Pahalgam to Chandanwari as it had a great religious and tourist importance.

The annual Amarnath pilgrimage would commence simultaneously from both traditional Pahalgam and shorter Baltal routes on June 30 on 'Varat Purnima' and conclude on August 28 on 'Sharavan Purnima', the Raksha Bandhan Day.

Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) chairman and Jammu and Kashmir Governor Lt Gen (Retd) S K Sinha said a three-day Sufi music festival would be organised on the commencement of the pilgrimage in which artists from India, Central Asia, Iran and Pakistan were expected to participate.

UNI