Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra 2008 Registration Form

Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra 2008 Duplicate Receipt Generation 

JK Bank Global Help Desk Contact Numbers

For 2008, a registration fee of Rs 15 has been fixed while Rs 24 is charged by way of an insurance policy to the pilgrims.

Name, Age, Address, Blood Group – undertaking that you are physically fit to undertake trek at 14000 feet altitude
For credit card verification, the billing address as it appears on your credit card statement
Pay By Credit Card [ Diners Club Card/ American Express/ JCB card/ Visa ] [Need verification number]
Pay By ATM-CUM-DEBIT CARD
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Pay by ITZ CASH CARDS

With the annual Amarnath yatra set to commence from June 18, registration of devotees has started across the country.

Devotees can register themselves at 80 different branches of Jammu and Kashmir Bank across the country. Registration would end on July 13.

A total quota of 28,6680 pilgrims would be registered across the country by the bank branches.

While 9000 pilgrims would be registered in Jammu, 1200 will be registered in Srinagar, 720 in Kathua, 480 in Rajouri, 480 in Poonch and 600 in Udhampur.

Here is the list of Jammu and Kashmir Bank branches where yatris can register

Andhra Pradesh – Hyderabad – Pather Ghatti, J.N.Road

Bihar – Patna – Phulwari Sharief

Chandigarh – Sector 17

Delhi – Azadpur; Chandni Chowk; Naraina; Navin Shadara; Okhla; Rohini; South Extenison; Sarita Vihar; Vasant Vihar

Goa – Panaji

Gujarat – Ahmedabad; Baroda (Lal Bagh); Surat

Haryana – Ambala Cantt; Gurgaon; Hissar; Karnal; Panipat;Rohtak

Himachal Pradesh – Dharmshala; Kullu; Shimla

Karnataka – Bangalore – SPJ Road; Infantry Road; Mysore

Kerala – Kochi; Ernakulam; Thriuvananthapuram

Maharashtra – Mumbai; Andheri (East); Kalbadevi, Mira Road, Vashi; Aurangabad; Nagpur; Pune

Madhya Pradesh – Bhopal; Indore

Punjab – Amritsar – Shastri Market; Majith Mandi; Batala; Bathinda; Ferozepur; Jalandhar; Ludhiana; Khanna; Moga; Mohali; Mandi Gobind Garh; Mansa; Pathankot; Phagwara

Rajasthan – Jaipur

Tamil Nadu – Chennai – Mount Road; Parrys

Uttar Pradesh – Agra; Aligarh; Allahabad; Bhadoni; Greater Noida; Kanpur; Lucknow; Meerut; Muradabad; Noida; Varanasi

West Bengal – Kolkata- R.N. Mukherji Road, Mullick Bazar

Jammu and Kashmir – Jammu – TRC Extension Counter; Rajori Jawahar Nagar ; Poonch – Main Branch; Kathua-Main Branch; Udhampur-Shakti Nagar ; Doda-Pul Doda and Srinagar TRC Extension Counter.

For the past few years now, JK Bank is playing a crucial role in ensuring smooth conduct of yatra. No pilgrim is allowed to proceed for the yatra without proper registration. After it was made mandatory for the yatris visiting Amarnath cave to register themselves before entering into the State, JK Bank came forward to bail the State government out of crisis. While upholding its tradition of coming to the aid of the people, the bank, since 2002, has been shouldering the responsibility to register yatris throughout the country at its designated branches. This has won laurels for the bank from the yatris for smooth and satisfactory registration service rendered to them through the bank branches.¼br />  

News – The Telegraph, Calcutta: Srinagar, May 22: Planning to take off on a soul-cleansing journey to Amarnath within the next few days? Tarry a while.

The Jammu and Kashmir government has deferred the official date of the yearly pilgrimage as it wants to steer clear of any controversy over early melting of the Shiva lingam.

The two-month yatra will now officially start from June 18, authorities said, adding that the administration has banned any movement of pilgrims to the cave shrine ahead of that date.

“Yes, we have imposed Section 144 to prevent any pilgrim visiting the cave before the said date and we are fully implementing it,” Kashmir divisional commissioner Mehboob Iqbal said.

“We are doing so at the recommendation of the (Amarnath) shrine board.”

Official sources said police teams deployed at both the Baltal and Pahalgam routes to the cave were turning back pilgrims.

Over the years it had become a routine that the unofficial yatra would commence a month ahead of the formal opening, with the full backing of shrine board officials.

Last year, devotees were disappointed to find that the lingam had melted even before the official yatra commenced.

In 2006, the board was mired in another controversy after allegations that an artificial lingam had been placed to keep the pilgrimage going after the original lingam had completely melted.

“The board does not want any controversy this time, the reason the unofficial yatra is not taking place this year,” a source in the board said.

Reasons cited for the early melting have ranged from increase in the cave temperature because of the duration of the pilgrimage, hugging of the lingam by devotees to burning of incense sticks within the cave.

Board chief executive officer Arun Kumar, however, said there was no scientific evidence to prove that the lingam melts because of the long pilgrimage period.

“We have urged the government in the past also to prevent any unofficial yatra. This time we are happy that they are properly implementing it.”

Kumar said there had been reports of pilgrims going too close to the lingam last year and even hugging it. “This will not happen this year as we have erected a 53-foot-long and nine-foot-high iron fence around the lingam.” He added that a perfect lingam, measuring 14 to 16 feet, had formed this year.

Board sources said they were expecting around five lakh pilgrims, around two lakh more than last year.

One of the bigger deals with undertaking any pilgrimage with thousands of other people is to be able be reasonably manage needs arounds bathrooms and  lavatories. If you are in the basecamp at Nunwan in Pahalgam, or camp in Panchtarni or Sheshnag, no other problem is more exacerbated than this. The scene at 6:00 has to be seen to be believed. People sit out there in open, and feces are littered all over – without many reservations, people sit anywhere – simply because there is no choice.  Help is on way…

FAHEEM ASLAM / MUDDASIR ALI of GreaterKashmir  

Pahalgam, May 16: The Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has constructed hundreds of lavatories and many huts at Nunwan base camp in this famous hill resort where
illegal constructions already pose a serious threat to its ‘fragile’ environment.

The land on which the lavatories and huts have come up is the state land acquired by the Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA) where construction of
any kind is strictly forbidden.

           “We have constructed 250 lavatories and 22 prefab huts for Yatris. The SASB has asked us to erect 100 more lavatories and 50 bathrooms in the base
camp,” said an SASB employee.

           The huts, and lavatories made of angular iron have been erected on concrete plinths in the green zone with a land area of 226 Kanals.

           Adjacent to the lavatories, small pits have been dug for disposal of human excreta. Many of these pits have been connected to a two feet wide drain
leading to nowhere. The green zone area has another drain which empties into a wide pit, few meters outside the camp. The pit, which has been dug on one side of
the main road leading to Pahalgam, ultimately leads into river Lidder, one of the main attractions of the resort.

           “The drain has been dug last year for flow of residual wastes from Langers which are established every year for yatris. It (drain) will ultimately
carry the wastes to the pit outside for safe decomposition,” said another SASB employee.

           The SASB, according to the employee, has planned to concretize the drain. “The plan was formulated last year, but the board may implement it this
year,” he said. The board is also shifting the prefab huts to other side in the camp due to the high-tension power line passing above them.  Environmentalists and officials in the PDA say environment of Pahalgam is very fragile and any interference with it would be detrimental to its
ecosystem. “Even a minor activity undertaken in this green zone can prove disastrous,” said Dr Mubashir Rufai, a noted environmentalist.

           He said the establishments of lavatories in the zone will affect the environment as well as human health. “The human excreta from these lavatories
will ultimately seep into bottom layers of earth and reach the underground water layer and contaminate it.  It will also pollute the Lidder stream besides
increase the bacterial count of water, which will affect the humans who will consume this water in the lower regions,” Dr Rufai said.

           The PDA authorities, however, claim the excreta would be treated chemically and it will not affect the Nunwan environment. But environmentalists refute the claim. “To what extent can the excreta be treated chemically when you have a massive rush of people?” questioned Dr
Rufai.

           He said the “best solution” would have been to erect environment-friendly lavatories with an attached soakage pit. “The pit could be transported for
proper decomposition at proper locations,” Dr Rufai said.

           The pre-fabricated huts were set up last year by the SASB without seeking permission of the authorities concerned.

           Since then, there has been a strong correspondence between the PDA and SASB about their shifting to some other location. But nothing has been done so
far, even though the construction in this zone is drawing flak from PDA.