JAMMU AND KASHMIR, INDIA, July 18, 2004: The special helicopter service for pilgrims to the holy shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir has been a big hit with the affluent amongst them preferring to fly to the cave instead of taking the treacherous trek. Since the official yatra began on July 15, private helicopters have been shuttling 30 to 40 pilgrims to and fro the cave shrine everyday. “On an average we are flying 30 to 40 pilgrims to and fro the holy cave,” Pargat Singh, Manager Marketing Nitish Tours and Travels, the private chopper operators, told PTI here. “We were hoping for 20 to 25 passengers daily but the response has been better than our expectations so far,” he said. The helicopters fly the pilgrims from Baltal base camp to the cave shrine and back for US$206 per head. “We have a similar facility available from Srinagar to the cave shrine as well but the statistics on the number of passengers is not available here,” Singh said.
A daily summary of world news for Hindus and non-Hindus alike