Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, June 21: The Government today directed the authorities at Lakhanpur to completely exempt the vehicles carrying any kind of goods for setting up `langars’ during annual pilgrimage of Shri Amarnath ji, beginning July 2, from the purview of Toll Tax and Entry Tax even as Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has decided to set up five on spot registration centres in Jammu and Srinagar to facilitate the pilgrims get registered even after directly reaching the State as only 1.83 lakh pilgrims have registered themselves so far as against total quota of 8.85 lakh.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the Government has issued directions to all authorities in Lakhanpur, the gateway to Jammu and Kashmir, to allow all vehicles carrying goods for installation of `langars’ at different places on yatra route right from Lakhanpur to holy cave shrine of Lord Shiva in South Kashmir Himalayas without charging any Toll Tax or Entry Tax.
“Verbal directions have been conveyed to the authorities at Lakhanpur while an official order will be issued shortly,” they said, adding with this long pending demand of the people engaged in running free langars for Amarnath yatris at Jammu-Pathankot and Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, base camps at Yatri Niwas, Jammu, Nunwan in Pahalgam, Baltal and twin tracks of Chandanwari and Baltal has been met.
Earlier, the Government used to charge only toll tax on the goods brought by the people running langars from outside Jammu and Kashmir. However, this year, the Government had also started charging Entry Tax on the goods being imported to the State for the langars.
The organisations running the langars had resented the Government decision that instead of withdrawing Toll Tax, the Government had imposed new form of Entry Tax on them. Acting swiftly, the Government has withdrawn both the taxes and directed authorities at Lakhanpur to ensure that no tax is charged on the goods being brought by the registered organisations for running langars. The Government has told the Lakhanpur authorities that an official order in this regard will also be issued within days.
Meanwhile, the SASB has decided to open five on-spot registration centres for Shri Amarnath ji pilgrims in Jammu and Srinagar to help the yatris get them registered if they proceed directly to the State for the pilgrimage starting from July 2. The 59 days annual pilgrimage will conclude on August 29 coinciding with Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan.
Four on spot registration centres, which will be opened in Jammu, included Vaishnavi Dham and Saraswati Dham at Railway Station, Yatri Niwas at Bhagwati Nagar, which also serves as base camp for the pilgrims and Geeta Bhawan, Parade Ground. One on-spot registration centre will be opened at Tourist Reception Centre, Nowgam in Srinagar. However, there will be no on-spot registration of pilgrims at forward base camps of Nunwan in Pahalgam and Baltal, where the pilgrims would have to reach after getting proper registration.
“The on-spot registration centres will help the pilgrims of Shri Amarnath ji from all over the country to get them registered here before proceeding to the cave shrine as a large number of pilgrims reach here without following due procedure of registration,” sources said.
They added that so far only 1.83 lakh pilgrims have registered themselves for the yatra countrywide through counters of different banks, authorized by the SASB, and online. Almost similar number of pilgrims had registered themselves with banks and online during corresponding period last year as, according to sources, a number of pilgrims prefer to register themselves on spot.
A total of 8.85 lakh pilgrims can register themselves for this year’s 59 days pilgrimage. The SASB has decided to register 15,000 pilgrims for every day of yatra-7500 each from the twin tracks of Baltal and Pahalgam.
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