GANDERBAL: In order to assess the sanitation facilities being put in place along the Baltal axis for the upcoming Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra (SANJY), 2025, Director General, Rural Sanitation, J&K, Anoo Malhotra, today conducted an extensive tour of the Baltal base camp.
Accompanied by district officials of Ganderbal, including the ACP and BDOs, DG Rural Sanitation visited various camps along the route starting from the Baltal base camp through Domail and Rail Pathri, up to the end of the track to review the sanitation arrangements for the Yatra.
She, on the way, took stock of the arrangements of men and machinery along the axis.
DG Rural Sanitation directed the agencies involved in the sanitation and waste management to speed up the process and ensure quality services to the pilgrims.
She emphasized that the department remains fully committed to ensuring the best facilities and services for the yatries.
During her visit, Malhotra reviewed the installation and functionality of various sanitation infrastructures, including the toilets, washrooms, dustbins, drainage for grey water disposal, segregation of wet waste site, plastic waste management site and other sanitation facilities along the Baltal axis.
She stressed the importance of maintaining the highest standards of cleanliness and called for the implementation of a zero-landfill policy along the entire pilgrimage route.
She issued specific directions for effective grey water management, including the construction of adequate soak pits and drainage systems to prevent waterlogging and ensure environmentally sustainable waste disposal practices.
Directing the officials to adopt a pilgrim-centric approach and ensure that all necessary arrangements are made promptly for the convenience and well-being of devotees, Malhotra called for immediate redressal of complaints, especially those related to hygiene, through a real-time response system.
She further informed that a QR code-based feedback system has been introduced at toilet points to enable pilgrims to report cleanliness status, provide feedback and support centralized tracking for improving service delivery.
