13 Juky:The Amarnath shrine board will extend financial support to some temples in the valley, Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra, who offered prayers at Amarnath, said on Sunday.
In consultation with the divisional administration, the board will identify certain shrines in Kashmir which would be revived with financial support, Vohra, also the board chairman, said.
The governor, who paid obeisance at the shrine with his wife and chief executive officer of the board B B Vyas, announced a grant-in-aid of Rs 25 lakh each for upgrading infrastructure at Shiv Khori and Buda Amarnathji in Jammu.
Divisional Commissioner (Jammu) will be responsible for effective utilisation of these grants, Vohra said. He asked Vyas to earmark a corpus fund of Rs one crore so that the board’s future expenditure on salaries can be met from interest earned on the sum.
Vohra held a high-level meeting at Baltal to take stock of arrangements for the ongoing pilgrimage and said "A long-term strategy would be drawn up for continuously reviewing, streamlining and regulating the annual yatra."
He emphasised close coordination between the state government and the board.Vohra also called for addressing ecological concerns at various camping sites enroute to the shrine and safeguarding the interests of local stake holders.
An official spokesman in Srinagar said the meeting was attended by Divisional Commissioner (Kashmir) Mehboob Iqbal, Inspector General of Police (Kashmir) S M Sahai and state Tourism Secretary Naeem Akhter.
The spokesman said the meeting was informed that the board has set up over 2,000 ecological toilets and accommodation facilities for 1,400 pilgrims.
Vohra visited the health centre at Baltal and enquired about the health of pilgrims, the spokesman said.He was informed that since the start of the pilgrimage, 65,000 patients have been treated at the Health Centre.The governor also inspected the tented colony and prefabricated huts. Courtsey DD NEWS