Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday inaugurated two hospitals of 100 beds each in Baltal and Chandanwari built by the DRDO and the Jammu and Kashmir administration ahead of the annual Amarnath Yatra.
According to officials, the hospitals are equipped with all modern facilities to provide treatment to the pilgrims. Jammu and Kashmir Health and Medical Education Secretary Bhupinder Kumar said the administration provided Rs 13 crore for building each hospital.
"Setting up of twin hospitals at Batal and Chandanwari within 15 days is wonderful. I feel indebted to all those who completed this work in the shortest period. It was appreciable", Sinha said. He asked the Union Territory administration to ensure the best possible facilities for the Amarnath pilgrims.
The 62-day-long pilgrimage to the cave shrine situated at an altitude of 3,880 meters in the south Kashmir Himalayas will commence on July 1 and conclude on August 31. Pilgrims will embark on the yatra via two routes -- the traditional 48-kilometre Nunwan route, in south Kashmir's Pahalgam, and the shorter 14-kilometre Baltal route in central Kashmir's Ganderbal.
The first batch of pilgrims will depart from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu on June 30. They will travel on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway before reaching their designated base camps in Pahalgam and Baltal.
