Amarnath Yatra: Devotees begin preparations for langar

Amarnath Yatra
Devotees begin preparations for langar
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Chhan Roriyan (Kathua), June 26
Devotees from Punjab, Haryana and Delhi have started pitching tents on the Lakhanpur-Srinagar National Highway to offer langar to pilgrims coming from across the country for the annual Amarnath yatra starting from June 29.

A view of a langar at Chhan Roriyan village in Kathua district on Sunday. Photo by writer
The Baba Barfani Seva Mandal from Moga in Punjab, which has been serving community kitchen food to the devotees for the past 10 consecutive years here, is the first group this year to have set up tents in Kathua district.

The mandal having members in Canada, Australia and New Zealand collects money from the people and contributes it for the holy purpose.

Providing facilities like breakfast, lunch, dinner and accommodation free of cost to nearly 2,000 people and giving the services of a dispensary, the group said it had never charged a single penny from any pilgrim.

“It becomes possible only with the blessings of Lord Mahadev, who gives us the power and courage to meet the challenges. We serve langar for almost one-and-a-half month during the yatra and use only quality products, as the yatra is very arduous and we have to keep everything in mind while preparing the food,” said Suresh Rawal, vice-president of the mandal. He said this year, they would serve langar till August 12.

“The state government has taken a few steps to provide assistance to people like us, who offer langar on the roadside. Local MLC Subhash Gupta has provided us land without any charges and he has also assured support whenever required,” Rawal added.