Budha Amarnath Yatra boosted Hindu population in Poonch, claims VHP

Financial stability has also improved because the pilgrimage has generated large-scale economic activity in the region, he told reporters.Parande said the annual yatra is not only religious in nature but has also played an important role in promoting national integration and boosting the morale of soldiers guarding the borders.As a result of this pilgrimage, all Hindu religious sites along the route have been preserved, and among minority Hindus living near the India-Pakistan border, the spirit of valour instead of migration has grown, he said.According to the VHP leader, the pilgrimage has also contributed to infrastructure growth in the region.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Thursday claimed that the annual Budha Amarnath Yatra organised by the Bajrang Dal has contributed to a four per cent increase in the Hindu population in Poonch town of Jammu and Kashmir and helped check migration from the region.

Addressing a press conference here, VHP international organising general secretary Milind Parande said the annual pilgrimage located in Poonch district has brought many positive changes to the region.

''One visible outcome of this yatra is that the percentage of the Hindu population living in Poonch town has increased by around three to four per cent because of this yatra. Financial stability has also improved because the pilgrimage has generated large-scale economic activity in the region,'' he told reporters.

Parande said the annual yatra is not only religious in nature but has also played an important role in promoting national integration and boosting the morale of soldiers guarding the borders.

''As a result of this pilgrimage, all Hindu religious sites along the route have been preserved, and among minority Hindus living near the India-Pakistan border, the spirit of valour instead of migration has grown,'' he said.

According to the VHP leader, the pilgrimage has also contributed to infrastructure growth in the region. A highway from Jammu to Poonch has now largely been ready. There has also been a survey regarding the extension of a railway line to the area,'' he said.

Parande said this year's Budha Amarnath Yatra will begin on August 16 and continue till August 27.

The inauguration will take place at Bhagwati Nagar Base Camp in Jammu, while pilgrims will leave for Poonch on August 17.

According to Parande, the Bajrang Dal has been organising the ''Shri Baba Budha Amarnath Sahasik Yatra'' for the past 21 years to the shrine near the India-Pakistan border.

He said the centuries-old pilgrimage had become ''almost defunct'' during the 1990s due to terrorism in the Valley and continuous cross-border shelling.

Parande said the Bajrang Dal took responsibility for reviving the pilgrimage around 2005 and initially mobilised around 7,000-8,000 participants annually.

''The yatra that had started with 7,000-8,000 people under Bajrang Dal's initiative has now become a pilgrimage of the larger society. Today, around 1.5 to 2 lakh people participate in it,'' he claimed.

''During the initial years, the yatra faced firing incidents and grenade attacks. Despite all this, the pilgrimage continued,'' he said.

Bajrang Dal national coordinator Kishan Prajapat said a dedicated website and registration portal have been launched for the pilgrimage to help devotees across the country register online and access information about the temple, route and travel arrangements.

Prajapat said the initiative aims to encourage more people to visit the shrine located in Mandi Rajpura village of Poonch district near the border.