Srinagar, July 12 (UNI) As many as 20 pilgrims and two yatra providers have died so far since the commencement of the 60-day-long pilgrimage to holy Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas since June 28 from traditional Pahalgam and shortest Baltal tracks.
A Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Raj Bhawan said here Thursday evening that Governor N N Vohra, who is also chairman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) announced ex-gratia relief of Rs 3 lakh each to the next of kin of 5 Yatris who died due to shooting stones on Baltal-Holy Cave route and 3 cases of deaths in road accidents.
This was announced during a review meeting held with CEO of SASB Umang Narula, CEO here today.
CEO informed Chairman that during June 28 to July 11, 2018, 20 Yatris had died enroute to Holy Cave.
In addition, 2 Service Providers also died, thereby raising the death toll to 22.
The PRO said out of 22 persons, 14 persons died due to medical reasons and 8 pilgrims died in accidents at different locations.
The mortal remains of 17 deceased Yatris and 1 Service Provider were transported by air to nearest to their homes airports in Bihar, West Bengal, Hyderabad, Gujarat and New Delhi.
The bodies of 3 deceased Yatris and 1 Service Provider were transported by road to their native places. The Board has also borne the cost of travel of one person who will escort the mortal remains of the deceased pilgrim to his or her home town. As on July 11, 2018 the Board had paid Rs 24 lakh as ex-gratia and spent About Rs 5 lakh on account of transportation cost of the mortal remains of deceased Yatris to their home towns along with one attendant.
Expressing grief over the unfortunate deaths of the pilgrims, the Governor conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families and issued instructions to CEO to provide immediate relief of Rs 3 lakh in favour of the next of kin every Yatri who died in an accident.
Injured Yatris who require specialized treatment are being provided necessary care at S K Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura, Srinagar; the cost of such treatment is borne by the Shrine Board. As on July 12 2018, 69 Yatris had been admitted to SKIMS out of whom 58 have been discharged and the rest are still under treatment.
UNI BAS SHK 2014