As per the latest aviation news, the Amarnath Yatra is reported to commence from 30th June’2022, and will continue for 43 days. The place is anticipating a heavy tourist rush this time on Amarnath Yatra and has requested to take pilgrims directly from Srinagar to Panchtarni, which is the last drop point about 6 km away from the shrine.
As of now, these helicopter services are available to pilgrims from Baltal and Pahalgam to Panchtarni, from where the devotees either take a walk, ride a mule, or in a palanquin to reach the Amarnath shrine. Both the cities, Pahalgam and Baltal are about 90 km away from Srinagar and this year, a new route will be added from Budgam, near Srinagar airport to Panchtarni.
As per the officials, the government is expected a heavy rush of tourists this year during the Yatra. So, to make it easy, it was decided to provide the helicopter services to yatris directly from Srinagar too. Also added said that the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has to check whether it’s feasible to place the helicopters on the slopes of the Amarnath Cave. Right now, the choppers are only transporting VVIPs to the cave.
The official said that it would not only reduce the distance but also let more tourists visit the shrine in a day. Also, said that this service is only used by a few pilgrims because of the cost involved. So, the flight price is currently being determined.
According to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) drafted following directions of the Supreme Court of India, only 15,000 devotees are allowed to go beyond Pahalgam and Baltal in a single day, registered with the government, including 7500 each from Baltal and Pahalgam track.
