Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): Over a week after claiming to have “created history with first set of vehicles reaching the holy cave”, Border Roads Organization (BRO) on Friday called as “factually incorrect” reports claiming that the BRO was building a motorable road for devotees leading to the Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir.
In a statement issued today, a BRO spokesman said that the BRO has been quoted in the print and social media as having stated that the yatris visiting Shri Amarnath Ji holy cave would soon be able to access through vehicular road. Rebutting the news, BRO quoted this to be “factually incorrect”. In an official statement, the BRO spokesman said that the work assigned to BRO for maintenance and upgradation of Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra track by the Jammu and Kashmir government in September, 2022 is going on “at steady pace during the working window available to it”.
The BRO said that the work of widening of tracks leading to the Holy Cave has been undertaken “in line with the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India”. Pertinently, the Supreme Court in writ petition 284 of 2012, interalia, issued the directions for sufficient widening of tracks to facilitate pedestrian traffic and address congestion on the track, improvement of critical stretches of the existing track, provide safety railings and retaining walls along the vulnerable stretches etc. keeping in view the environmental concerns.
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The BRO spokesman said that in line with the SC's directions, the BRO has undertaken “widening of the tracks meant for movement of yatris on foot, by palkis/ dandies and on ponies”. The BRO said that after the handing over of the yatra tracks in September, 2022 to BRO by the Government of UT of J&K, it has undertaken the work on “widening of the tracks in many stretches, improving the gradients of the tracks providing stronger safety railings and retaining walls in vulnerable stretches along the track keeping in view the environmental concerns”.
“This contributed to substantial improvement in satisfaction level of the yatris, and making the movement of yatris on tracks safer. In order to continue with the work which could not be completed before the last yatra, BRO, by engaging men and machinery, has widened many remaining portions of the tracks which were narrow and vulnerable. This will make the movement of yatris visiting the Holy Shrine on foot/ palkies/ dandies and ponies more comfortable and convenient,” the BRO said.
Significantly, the BRO's latest statement comes over a week after it claimed to have “created history with first set of vehicles reaching the holy cave”. The BRO on Nov 2 ahd also posted a video on its official X account showing vehicles plying along the tricky terrain on the Himalayas. The BRO came under fire with the People's Democratic Party terming the construction of the road “biggest crime one can commit to Hinduism & it's faith in nature”.
