DISASTER MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR SHRI AMARNATH -JI YATRA 2020 GANDERBAL DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION GANDERBAL 1 | P a g e OBJECTIVE To direct and enable the state government and local administration to prepare appropriate guidelines for effective and efficient management during the holy yatra and to earmark roles and responsibilities to State, District and local authorities for effective yatra management. AIM OF THE PLAN i. To provide an outline for administrators to plan and manage the yatra better. ii. To provide practical guidelines to the yatra organizers so as to manage the crowd and ensure their safety. iii. To provide a road map for capacity building for crowd management. Introduction The newly created Ganderbal district came into existence in 2007 by segregation/separation of areas of Ganderbal and Kangan from erstwhile Srinagar district. District Ganderbal is located at 34.23°N 74.78°E on the northern side of world famous Srinagar city of Kashmir valley at an elevation of 1600 to 3000 meters above Mean Sea Level (MSL). The District extends from Ganderbal to Sonamarg (Gumri) and National Highway NH-1A passes through the centre of district connecting Union Territory of Ladakh with Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. It covers total area of 37,901 hectare. The dimension of the district is 80 and 30 square kilometres approximately. It is bordered by district Srinagar in the south, Bandipora to the north, Kargil in the north east, Anantnag to the southeast and Baramulla in the southwest. It is divided into seven blocks viz, Ganderbal, Kangan, wakoora,Tulmulla, ,Gund, ,Lar and Safapora. Nallah Sindh, a major tributary to the Jehlum River flows through this district. The water of the river is mainly used for irrigation, and generation of Hydroelectricity. Ganderbal District has a topography which ranges from treacherous lofty mountains barren of any vegetation in areas adjacent to Union Territory of Ladakh to temperate climate in the rest of the District. Due to Funnel Effect, western disturbances bring in huge amounts of precipitation in areas around Zoji-la & Sonamarg. The mountain peaks like Harmukh, Kolahoi, and Gunj etc. in the SogputDhar Range remain snow clad all the year round. In fact these are the areas with the highest precipitation in the Valley. Fortunately this is very sparingly populated area. However, National Highway (NH-1D) passes through this area, with infamous Zoji-la pass having a history of disasters. With alternate Baltal route gaining popularity almost half of the Yatries (pilgrims) to Amaranthji Shrine visit the place via Baltal. Ganderbal and River Sindh (locally known as Sendh) are inseparable entities. Lofty mountains and Glaciers being sources of this torrential river, heavy and devastating floods have occurred at least twice in past twenty five years. Great force and velocity of water has caused severe damages to houses, crops, roads and bridges. As the river slows down near Ganderbal, where it enters plains, water logging and flooding is a recurring feature in villages to either side of the river like Gadoora, Shallabugh, Harran, Fatehpora etc. Administrative Units:- S.no. Administrative Units Area 2 | P a g e 1 Assembly Constituencies 16-Kangan, 17-Ganderbal 2 Sub-division Kangan(comprising of Tehsil kangan & Tehsil Gund) 3 Tehsils Ganderbal, Kangan, Lar, Tullamulla, Gund, Wakoora 4 CD Blocks Ganderbal, Kangan, Lar, Wakoora, Gund, Shearpathri, Safapora Climate Ganderbal district possesses all the typical characteristics of the climate of Kashmir Valley as a whole. In the heat of July, the breeze of the Singh River is a welcome relief. Sir Walter Lawrence writes in his book The Valley of Kashmir that in latitude, Kashmir corresponds with Peshawar, Baghdad and Damascus in Asia: with Fez in Morocco: and South Carolina in America, but it presents none of the characteristics of those countries. People have linked the climate of Kashmir to that of Switzerland until the end of May, and of Southern France in July and August. But it is impossible to speak of Kashmir as possessing any one climate or group of characteristics. Every hundred feet of elevation brings some new phase of climate and of vegetation. Background of the Yatra Every year for about 40-45 days between July – August, lakhs of people travel to the Amaranth cave in South Kashmir to pay obeisance to an ice stalagmite, which is believed to be an embodiment of the Hindu deity Shiva. According to mythology, it is here that Shiva narrated the story of eternity to his consort Parvati, from where the cave gets its name Amarnath, meaning God of Eternity. The ice stalagmite is located in a cave at an elevation of 13,500 feet. At the rear end water drips through crevices which starts freezing as it touches the floor of the cave, thus forming the stalagmite. While several kinds and shapes of ice stalagmites are found the world over, in the case of the one in the Amarnath cave, several such spirals of stalagmites unite to form a solid dome-shaped form of ice. Next to this dome are two smaller ice formations believed to represent Parvati and Ganesh. It is believed that the stalagmites change with the waxing and waning of the moon and it is only in the month of Shravan in the Hindu calendar that the formation is complete. It is also believed that the full moon day in the month of Shravan called the Shravan Poornima is particularly auspicious to pray in the cave. The Amarnath Cave is situated in the region north of Pahalgam and south of the Zojila Pass in Kashmir. It can be accessed through 2 routes – one from Pahalgam, district Anantnag (Nunwan), to the Cave and the other from Baltal, district Ganderbal. The Pahalgam route is also the traditional one, and since it is 33 kms long it takes yatris 5 days from Nunwan to the Cave and back. Prominent milestones on this route are Chandanwari, Pisu Top, Sheesh Nag, Mahagunus Top, Panchtarni, Sangam. The second route from Baltal is a newer and shorter route of 18 kms which can be completed in a day. Both routes meet at Sangam from where there is a single path to the Cave. 3 | P a g e History of Disasters 1. 1996 Amarnath Yatra tragedy: 1996 Amarnath Yatra tragedy is referred to the deaths of over 250 pilgrims in 1996 in Jammu and Kashmir State in India due to bad weather. The pilgrims were on annual pilgrimage (Yatra) to Amarnath shrine. During this period there was unusually heavy snowfall along with severe blizzards along the yatra route. Yatris lost their lives due to exhaustion, exposure, freezing, etc. 2. Road accident (2012): On July 27, 2012, Sixteen (16) Amarnath pilgrims were killed and 16 others injured when a truck carrying them plunged into a deep gorge in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir.The truck carrying 34 pilgrims, who were engaged in setting a community kitchen at Amarnath, was returning back when it skidded off the road and rolled down deep into the gorge near ZamoorhaMorh in Mansar belt of Samba district, about 50 kilometres from Jammu city. 3. Cloudburst (2015): Three people were killed and 11 injured after a cloudburst triggered flash floods and landslides near the Baltal base camp of the Amaranth yatra in Central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district on July 25, 2015. At least 50 tents and shops as well as the parking area outside the main gate of the base camp were affected. SHRI. AMARNATH JI YATRA-2020 This year, Shri. Amaranth Ji Yatra is scheduled to commence from 21st July 2020 . As such every department associated with the Yatra shall have to be ready with men & material by 1st July 2020. All the civil officers associated with the Yatra shall directly liaise with Deputy Commissioner/Yatra Officer in case of any emergency for taking up any work of emergent nature. District heads of all the departments shall share the information with regard to the arrangements made for smooth conduct of Yatra. The Yatra period synchronizes with Monsoon season and as such susceptible to flash flood, cloud burst, torrential rains and hailstorm landslides partially in the area between Sonamarg and Holy Cave. The road from Ganderbal to Baltal is narrow hence accident prone. Baltal to Holy Cave, the track is difficult and mountainous, passes over heights ranging from 8000 feet to 14600 feet. The repairing and widening of the track is done every year but there are still some narrow patches as it get damages in winter due to heavy snowfall in the area. The Yatries have to cover distance of 14 Kms on foot or on horseback. No built up accommodation is available along the track beyond Baltal barring a few temporary shelter sheds/pre-fabricated huts. The terrain and topography of the Yatra route is inhospitable and unpredictable weather have always to be kept in mind. The temperature generally dips down in cloudy weather. The scale of Yatra has gone up steadily during the last 13 years. But due to COVID -19, this year the Yatra has been restricted to 15 days and not more than 15000 Yatries are expected to visit the shrine from Baltal route only. The altitude of various stations enroute and distance between different stations is given as under: 4 | P a g e S.No Station Altitude(Feets) Distance From To Distance(Kms) 1 Baltal 9400 Jammu Baltal 400 2 Domail 9760 Baltal Domail 02 3 Railpathri 10700 Domail Brari Marg 05 4 Brari Marg 13120 Brari Marg Sangam 04 5 Sangam 11808 Sangam Holycave 03 6 Holy Cave 13000 Types of Disaster: Considering the altitude, topography, weather conditions, number of Yatries and in hospitability of terrain.