Jammu: As Northern Railways plans to operate special trains for the pilgrims intending to undertake Amarnath Yatra, authorities have set up various facilities, including registration on arrival and medical check-up, at Jammu Railway station, a senior railway official said on Wednesday.
Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Jammu Division of northern railway, Uchit Singhal said additional security forces have also been deployed at the station while more CCTV cameras have also been installed for the safety of the travellers.
The 38-day-yatra will start from the twin routes — the traditional Pahalgam route in south Kashmir and shortest Baltal route in central Kashmir — on July 3 and conclude on August 9. The first batch of pilgrims was flagged off from base camp in Jammu by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday morning.
“Like every year, special arrangements have been made to facilities (Amarnath) pilgrims at Jammu Railway Station which is an important point of this journey,” Singhal said.
He said the Railways under the guidance of Divisional Railway Manager Vivek Kumar and the J&K administration together have created a special holding area for the stay of passengers at Jammu Railway Station, where registration counters have been set up so that the pilgrims can get themselves registered on their arrival in the city.
Health checkup facility has also been made available for the pilgrims at the station, along with this, help booths have also been set up at the station to provide guidance and information regarding the journey, the officer said.
He said special attention has also been given to the food and drink for the pilgrims, and along with the deployment of special and additional security forces for the safety of the pilgrims at the railway station, CCTV cameras have also been installed.
Singhal said special trains are being operated by the Railways for the pilgrims coming from other states.
For the convenience of the passengers at the station, additional reserved and unreserved ticket counters have also been opened by the commercial department, and information about the trains is being given continuously through the announcement system at the station, he said.
