Ramban/Jammu: At least 36 Amarnath pilgrims, hailing from different states, suffered minor injuries when five buses slammed into each other in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district on Saturday, officials said.
The buses were part of a convoy headed for the Pahalgam base camp of the pilgrimage in south Kashmir from Jammu’s Bhagwati Nagar. All the injured persons rejoined the yatra after receiving treatment at the Ramban district hospital.
The accident took place near Chanderkote, along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, at around 8 am due to the failure of the brakes of one of the buses in the convoy, the officials said.
“There was a minor accident at Chanderkote when a Pahalgam-bound vehicle collided with other stationary vehicles due to brake failure,” Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said in a statement. He said 36 pilgrims received minor injuries in the incident. They were discharged after preliminary treatment and resumed the journey towards the 3,880-metre cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas, the statement said.
“By the blessings of Lord Shiva, all the devotees are safe,” the LG said.
“Our priority is the safety of all pilgrims. Directed the officials concerned to implement comprehensive safety measures for vehicles of pilgrims undertaking Amarnath Yatra and ensure safety checks at all key locations and uninterrupted availability of food and medicines at Yatra route,” he added.
Earlier, the LG spoke to Jammu Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar and Ramban Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Alyas Khan and asked them to provide all necessary assistance to the injured pilgrims.
Sinha had asked senior officials to remain on alert and ensure all necessary arrangements for a hassle-free journey of the pilgrims, a spokesperson of the Raj Bhavan said.
The LG applauded the swift response of the district administration and health officials.
Earlier, the Ramban deputy commissioner said the last vehicle of the Pahalgam convoy lost control and hit stranded vehicles at the Chanderkote Langer site, damaging four vehicles and causing minor injuries to 36 pilgrims.
He said the government officials already present at the site rushed the injured to the district hospital.
Several senior police officers visited the hospital to monitor the treatment of the injured and directed the chief medical officer to ensure the best care.
“The yatris were later shifted to other vehicles for their onward journey,” the deputy commissioner said.
Union minister Jitendra Singh said he spoke to the Ramban deputy commissioner after learning about the road accident.
“…. There is no reason for concern. All arrangements for the pilgrims are in place and are being constantly supervised by the administration,” Singh said in a post on X.
6,900 Amarnath pilgrims leave Jammu base camp for Kashmir
Braving heavy rain, a fresh batch of over 6,900 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here on Saturday to pay a visit to the Amarnath shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said.
About 30,000 pilgrims have prayed at the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine since July 3 when the 38-day annual yatra commenced from the twin tracks in Pahalgam in Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district.
The fourth batch of 6,979 pilgrims — 5,196 men, 1,427 women, 24 children, 331 sadhus and sadhvis and one transgender — left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in two separate convoys between 3.30 am and 4.05 am amid tight security, officials said.
While 4,226 pilgrims left in 161 vehicles for Nunwan base camp for the 48-kilometre traditional Pahalgam route, 2,753 pilgrims were headed for the shorter but steeper 14-kilometre Baltal route in 151 vehicles, they said.
With the fresh departure, a total of 24,528 pilgrims have left the Jammu base camp for the Valley since Wednesday, when Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the yatra from here.
The yatra goes on as usual, albeit in tighter security, despite the April 22 Pahalgam attack in which 26 men were gunned down.
The Bhagwati Nagar base camp has been put under a multi-tier security cover. More than 3.5 lakh people have registered online for the pilgrimage so far.
Thirty-four accommodation centres have been set up across Jammu, and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are being issued to the pilgrims. Twelve counters have been set up for an on-the-spot registration of pilgrims.
(PTI)
