Sikh pilgrims due in Lahore on 26th

          Lahore, June 24: As many as 500 Sikh pilgrims are arriving here on June 26 through Wagah on a 10-day visit. During their three-day stay at Gurdwara Dera Sahib, they will observe the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh. Dawn daily reported the Sikh pilgrims will visit Gurdwara Rorri Sahib in Eminabad, Gujranwala district, on June 28. They will go to Gurdwara Panja Sahib at Hasan Abdal on June 30. On the last leg of their visit, the pilgrims will visit Gurdwara Janam Asthan at Nankana Sahib. The pilgrims will leave for India through Wagah on July 5.

Bank insurance for Amarnath pilgrims

          Srinagar, June 19: The Jammu and Kashmir Bank here provides insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh to pilgrims visiting the holy Amarnath cave shrine. This is given to individuals during the actual period of the pilgrimage till it is over. The pilgrims are happy as the shrine, situated in a dense forest, often comes under raids by Pakistan-based Muslim guerrillas. "They (officials) are providing us insurance and adequate help. This is a new facility available to the pilgrims," said Anand Dave, a pilgrim from Bihar. Officials say more than 100,000 pilgrims have visited the shrine, discovered by a Muslim shepherd in the 16th century. Every year, at least 12,000 soldiers and para-military officials guard the shrine during the pilgrimage. Bank officials said the insurance could be obtained at a token premium of Rs 20.

          "The facilities provided by us this time includes a pass, the date for the pilgrimage and we also are providing insurance. The pilgrims are supposed to pay us 20 rupees and we give an insurance package of 100,000 rupees immediately on the counter. The insurance comes into effect from the date the pilgrimage starts and ends as they reach the base camp after the pilgrimage," Ajaz Ahmed, manager of the bank said. The treacherous narrow 30-mile (50-km) path from Pahalgam takes the pilgrims along icy streams, and around glacial lakes and dense pine forests.

China clears Kailash yatra (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, June 18: This year's Kailash-Manasarovar pilgrimage organised by the foreign ministry will start next month following clearance from the Chinese government. China had withheld permission due to the SARS scare. Mount Kailash and Manasarovar lake are located in Tibet, under Chinese control. (Earlier Report)

Amarnath yatra registration (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, June 16: Advance registration for pilgrimage to Amarnath organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Government began today at the branches of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank in the country. The registration will close on June 28, 2003. Application form should be submitted to the nearest/designated bank alongwith a medical certificate, Rs 10 per head, and two passport size photographs, one of which should be pasted on the application form. Application form can be copied from the advertisement appearing in newspapers dated June 14 or obtained from the bank or downloaded from www.jkbank.net or www.jkbank.org There will not be any current reservation anywhere.

          The forms are accepted at the banks between 3 pm and 6 pm on all week days and between 1 pm and 4 pm on working Saturdays. Each yatri needs to file separate application. The colour of the registration-cum-identity slip will vary according to the route - Chandanwari/Baltal - selected and the date/week allotted for darshan. The first convoy of yatris will leave Jammu on July 9, 2003 and the last on August 9, 2003. Darshan at the holy cave will be from July 12 to August 12.

          The yatra involves trekking at altitudes up to 14,500 feet under difficult physical and uncertain weather conditions. Return trek from Pahalgam to the cave takes 6 days. It takes two days of strenuous trekking to reach the cave via Sonamarg-Baltal route.

10 Sikh pilgrims leave for Pak to visit shrines (Go To Top)

          Jammu, June 12: A ten-member team of Sikh pilgrims from Jammu left for Pakistan on Thursday to visit religious shrines following the slight easing of tensions between the two countries. The team is also expected to participate in the martyrdom anniversary of one of their leaders to be held on June 16. The pilgrims will visit Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, Gurdwara Panja Sahib, Sacha Sahib and Gurdwara Dera Sahib, some of the famous Sikh shrines in Pakistan. The pilgrims, who offered prayers at a Sikh shrine before leaving, said they would pray for peace and normalisation of relations between the two neighbours.

         "For long we wanted to visit the place, but the government was not permitting. Now we have got the permission, but only ten of us have got the visa. It is sad," said Satwant Kaur, an elderly pilgrim. More than 400 persons had applied for a visit to Pakistan this year.

          Every year, thousands of Sikh pilgrims from across the world congregate in Pakistan to participate in the birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev, founder of the Sikh religion. Last year only 50 Sikhs from India made a token visit to Pakistan. A few thousand followers of the Sikh religion are living in Pakistan but the majority of them migrated to India after the partition in 1947.

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