In Pakistan, a stampede at the shrine of Pir Jo Goth near Khairpur has resulted in the deaths of at least eight people. According to the head of shrine’s administration the tragedy unfolded when thousands of followers of Pir of Pagara, were leaving Dargah’s premises.

Suffocation led to most of the deaths in the wake of a sudden stampede. Some received serious injuries after they were trampled over by the crowd.

 Minister of State for External Affairs Praneet Kaur has said that External Affairs Ministry has not received any applications for Indian citizenship or asylum from Pak Hindus who are on pilgrimage to India.

She said in Patiala, the matter comes under the subject of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Minister said the issue of granting asylum is considered on a case-to-case basis in case Ministry of External Affairs receives any such request from Pak Hindus. 

She said that Ministry would consider any such cases sympathetically after studying all legal aspects of the matter. Saying that every country should safeguarded the security and rights of minorities, she said that Pakistan Government has been apprised of India’s worries. 

On the recent killing of Sikhs in a US gurdwara Praneet kaur said that diplomats of both India and the US are in touch with each other and all necessary steps are being taken to ensure the security of Sikhs in America.

n Jammu and Kashmir, over five million pilgrims from across the Country have visited to the famous Shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi in Reasi district of Jammu division in the first six months of this year. According to an official of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB), about 5.17 million pilgrims visited the Shrine up to June this year as against 4.72 million during the corresponding period in 2011. Official claimed that board has taken several initiatives to meet the needs of the ever increasing pilgrimage.

Government today said there is a need to establish a system in the country under which people should go for Haj pilgrimage with their own resources without subsidy.

Union Minister for Minority Affairs Salman Khurshid told reporters in New Delhi on the sidelines of a conference on Haj management, that the new arrangement should be such where there is no subsidy and Haj is possible at the right price and people can go to pilgrimage with their own resources and money.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra who is also the Chairman of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, is visiting Chandanwari and Nunwan base camps of Shri Amarnath Yatra today to review the snow clearance work on the two yatra tracks. 

He is later scheduled to chair a high level meeting of Divisional and district Administration to review the latest preparations being made for the timely commencement of the Yatra. The Annual Pilgrimage is scheduled to start on June 25 and will culminate on August 2, 2012, the day of Rakshabandhan.

While Government and Amarnath Shrine Board are making all out efforts and are working day and night to ensure that the yatra starts on time, the weather is hindering the snow clearance work. Since the track is having almost 18 feet snow at many places, the Shrine Board has deployed sufficient number of labour and machinery to clear the tracks. 

Special Secretary of the Union Home Ministry, Mr. Ashok Chadda also reviewed the Yatra arrangements at Pahalgam and Srinagar last week and had stressed on close coordination among different departments for a successful Yatra.

For better management of pilgrims and pony vendors at the Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine situated in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir State, a system based on smart-card and biometrics would soon be put in place. In this connection Municipal Committee Katra (MCK) has floated Request for Proposal (RFP) for Visitor-Pony management system for pilgrims at Vaishnodevi shrine to have a stricter control over vendors, for the benefit of devotees.

The system will be put in place for 18-km Katra-Bhawan-Bharov stretch of route to cave shrine. The RFP has been invited from companies which have national presence for regulation of ponies, potters, delivery schedules, technical and commercial terms. The Municipal Committee Katra (MCK) has over 25,000 pony vendors who ferry roughly 35 lakh pilgrims, out of over one crore pilgrims visiting the cave shrine annually.

Currently, the committee manages the visitor and the vendors (ponywalas) manually, in which the vendors get paid according to the distance they travel. Meanwhile, Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine Board (SMVSB) will set up a new helipad for ferrying pilgrims to the famous cave shrine. 

According to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine Board Navin Kumar Choudhary a new helipad is being built by the Board to cater to the needs of increasing number of pilgrims flying every day to the cave shrine.
RESai district

In a major initiative, the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, SASB, has tied up with the Department of Posts for registration of pilgrims through selected post offices across the country especially in Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and UP. As many as 100 post offices across the country have been identified in this regard.

Chief Executive Officer, SASB, Navin K Choudhary said in Srinagar that the Department of Posts will start the registration of Yatris on behalf of Shrine Board from May 7. He said the facility will be in addition to the 174 Bank

Branches and via the Internet based e-Registration System already announced by the Shrine Board.

The six-month long pilgrimage to four Hindu shrines Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri, popularly known as the 'Char Dham Yatra' will begin from Tuesday. Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee President Anusua Prasad Bhatt told reporters in Dehradun on Sunday that the shrine of Badrinath will open for the devotees on April 28, while the Kedarnath shrine will open on April 29. He said, the Yamunotri and Gangotri shrines will be opened on Tuesday itself. He added that special arrangements have been made for accommodating the pilgrims, expected to be around 50,000 this year.

Meanwhile, the administration has made elaborate security arrangements for the pilgrims coming on the yatra.

The Centre has informed the Supreme Court that it has decided to restrict Haj pilgrimage at government subsidy to Muslims only as a "once in a lifetime" affair as against the existing policy of "once in five years". In an affidavit filed before the apex court, the government said, the new guidelines have been framed to ensure that priority is given to those applicants who have never performed Haj. It said, priority will be given to those who are in the 70 plus category and those who had unsuccessfully applied thrice earlier for the subsidy.

The Centre's affidavit comes in the backdrop of certain searching questions raised by the apex court on February 24. A bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai had directed the Centre to provide details of subsidy given by it and criteria adopted for allocation of seats to state committees.