The Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India Nitin Gadkari announced that the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Shri Manoj Sinha and the armed forces have initiated the construction of a road route of 110 Km 4 lane road from Khanabal to Panjtarni for the ease of Amarnath yatris at an estimated cost of Rs 5,300 crore. The minister shared that the DPR for a 73 km stretch from Khanabal to Chandanwari will be done in July 2023. On this route, between Sheshnag and Panjtarni a 10.8 km long tunnel will be constructed to provide shelter to the yatris from snowfall. The DPR for a 37 km stretch from Chandanwari to Baltal via Panjtarni at a cost of Rs 3,500 will be done in October this year. From Panjtarni to the holy Amarnath cave shrine a 5.50 metre footpath will be constructed. And barricades will be made for safety on both sides of the road, the minister shared. The duration of the Amarnath yatra will be greatly reduced. The yatris used to cover the yatra in 2-3 days, now they can do it in 8-9 hours from Srinagar, the minister stated. In the current scenario, the minister said that the Amarnath yatra journey from Srinagar to Pahalgam which is 90 km takes 2 hours. From Pahalgam to Chandanwari, a 16 km yatra is 30 minutes. From Chandanwari to Panjtarni, the 26 km difficult yatra takes 13 hours. And from Panjtarni to the Amarnath cave, the 5 km distance takes five hours. To complete the entire yatra, the devotees had to spend two nights in camps. Now, the yatra will get much better, said the Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.
