Vohra asks J

Srinagar, Jun 29 (UNI) In a major initiative to defuse the present crisis, the chairman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) Governor N N Vohra has asked the Jammu and Kashmir Government if it was ready to assume the responsibility for providing required support and facilities to the Amarnath pilgrims.

All the facilities at different halting points were being provided to yatris by the SASB while security, health, firewood, gas and other essential commodities for the pilgrims were been taken care of by the authorities.

An official spokesman here said today the Governor had written a letter to Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad enquiring if the State Government would be ready to undertake the responsibility of logistical development in order to provide all required support and facilities to the pilgrims, and fully ensure their welfare, safety and security during the entire period of the Amarnath Yatra.

He said in response to a letter from Mr Vohra the Chief Minister has assured him that the government would undertake to discharge all responsibilities and that it is the duty of the government to do everything required to be done in public interest.

Mr Azad said, ''We strongly feel it is in the interest of the State Government and the people at large not only to provide all support and facilities to the pilgrims but also to ensure their full safety and security'' The Chief Minister added that the Yatra had been going on for more than a century and a half and had always been supported by the people of the Valley. ''We will not permit this great tradition of communal harmony and togetherness to be tampered with'', he said.

UNI BAS MYK PY CS1158