‘Langar’ services for Amarnath Yatra pilgrims at J&K base camps

Baltal (JK), Jul 22 (PTI) Many social and religious organisations from across the country have set up ‘langar’ (community kitchen) services for pilgrims of the annual Amarnath Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir, thus becoming a means of sustenance for the yatris.

Such services can be witnessed at every base camp of the Yatra – on both Baltal as well as Pahalgam axis — and at camps in Jammu.

The langar services offer a variety of free vegetarian food to 3,000-4,000 people, including the pilgrims.

In an advisory, the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has asked langar organisations to serve only nutritious and healthy meals to the pilgrims. The permitted menu includes cereals, pulses, green vegetables, potato, soya chunks, fruits and sprouts, plain rice, unfried (without oil/butter) rotis, among others.

Apart from providing delicious and fresh meals, the langars also take care of the shelter needs of the yatris. They offer free sleeping space’ with mattresses and blankets and even phone charging points.

“For the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims, services like boarding and lodging arrangements are up to the required standards. All forms of arrangements are provided to every pilgrim. Everyone eats at the langar seva irrespective of one’s religion,” Ajay Kumar Swami, a ‘sevadar’ (volunteer), told PTI at the Baltal base camp in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.

Hundreds of volunteers like Swami work tirelessly round-the-clock to help the pilgrims.

“Shelter, food, drinks and blankets are provided to every pilgrim. There is no shortage of food and everyone eats sufficiently at the ‘langar seva’,” Navdeep Arora, a pilgrim from Punjab, said.

“Every pilgrim gets the best services – food, drinks, shelter and blanket. I am very thankful to these people who work tirelessly to provide the best quality services to every pilgrim,” Sandeep Meigi, another yatri, said.

Ghulam Nabi, a ponywalla, said community kitchens transcend the boundaries of religion as local Muslims also fulfil the hunger needs of pilgrims at these langar units.

Besides the langar services at the base camp also organise musical events to help the pilgrims unwind after an arduous journey to the holy cave shrine.

Many a time, they also act as information centres and provide a helping hand to the yatris.

“Apart from serving langar, another vital job of these centres is to give information. If any pilgrim is missing or has been found, or someone faces any difficulty, the information is circulated among all. We get information from the administration and pass it on to the yatris,” Kavitesh, a volunteer, said.