The Jammu and Kashmir Road Transport Corporation (JKRTC) will deploy 200 buses for pilgrims undertaking the 57-day annual Baba Amarnath Yatra, scheduled to begin on July 3 and conclude on August 27 this year.

This year, pilgrims travelling on JKRTC buses will have to pay higher fares than last year, as the government increased passenger fares by 18 per cent just a month ago. The fare charged to pilgrims will depend on the type of bus they travel on.

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Although the JKRTC has not yet fixed fares for various categories of buses before the Amarnath Yatra, the management says that the fares will be publicly announced a week before the Amarnath Yatra. A total of 200 buses, including deluxe coaches, semi-deluxe and others, will be provided by the Jammu and Kashmir SRTC department for this year's holy Amarnath Yatra.

According to JKRTC sources, 100 of these 200 buses will transport Amarnath pilgrims daily in batches from Jammu to Srinagar and from Srinagar to Jammu. These 100 buses will operate on both routes of the Amarnath Yatra route, the Pahalgam and Baltal routes.

Out of the remaining 100 buses provided by the Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation, some buses will be deployed at Ramban, Banihal, Udhampur, Nagrota and other stations on the Yatra route so that the pilgrims do not face any inconvenience.

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Empty Buses To Be Operated

Even if the buses carrying pilgrims develop a mechanical problem during the yatra, the pilgrims can travel without any interruption by using the JKRTC buses deployed at various stations. The standby buses accompanying the Yatra would be equipped to transfer the pilgrims in case of any breakdown of any of the buses or machinery trouble.