Special registration facility for NRI Amarnath pilgrims

JAMMU: Non-resident Indians will now have a special registration facility for the annual Amarnath Yatra starting from June 28.

"The registration facility has been specially established in view of the fact that a good number of devotees living abroad undertake this annual Yatra," CEO of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) Naveen Choudhary said here today.

The 44-day annual pilgrimage to the holy Himalayan cave shrine of Lord Shiva in south Kashmir will commence from June 28 from both Baltal and traditional Pahalgam routes, and will conclude on August 10.

The CEO stated that an ex-India pilgrim shall need to furnish scanned copies of -- filled-in Application Form, Compulsory Health Certificate (CHC) and his or her scanned photograph.

NRIs should obtain a CHC, issued after 1st February 2014 from the National Health Services of the country in which they reside or from a reputed private hospital.

"The format of CHC shall be the same as for pilgrims from India. On arrival, the NRIs have the choice of collecting the Yatra Permit from the designated branch of Punjab National Bank (PNB) at Jammu or Srinagar", he added.

This choice shall be indicated by the NRI pilgrims when they e-mail their Application Form to -- nkanand@pnb.co.in.

They also have to deposit the prescribed Registration Fee of Rs 500 in the designated PNB branch.

The CEO stated that the intending ex-India Yatris will be informed through e-mail whether they have been registered for the Yatra and the address of the Bank Branch at Jammu or Srinagar to collect the Yatra Permit.

The detailed procedure for registering ex-India pilgrims and the formats of Application Form and Compulsory Health Certificate have been put on the SASB website -- www.shriamarnathjishrine.com.