Yatris can register at a nominal fee of Rs 15 per person.

The Registration can be done both Online and Offline through branches of several banks and post offices across the country. The registration facility for the Yatra is available through any of the 274 Registration Counters – 121 J&K Bank Branches, 49 YES Bank Branches, 4 Bihar Central Co-operative Bank Branches, 100 Post Offices, and through the On-line facility on J&K Bank’s website. You can also directly visit this page to register online.

Yatris who have e-Yatra Permits shall be required to submit their Health Certificate at Baltal/Chandanwari and get their e-Yatra Permits stamped (by the officials of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board), before being allowed to proceed onwards to the Holy Cave.

The Online Registration facility is limited to a maximum of 5 people at a time.

The details of Banks and Post Offices where the Offline Registration Facility is available on the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board’s website.

Taj Mahal at Night

Agra’s Taj Mahal may soon be opened up for night viewing, from a safe distance though. The Uttar Pradesh government is working on a roadmap to allow night viewing and a host of other measures to “pep up tourism at Agra“, one of India’s top tourist destinations.

Chief Secretary Jawwed Usmani has asked officials to work on the project, which also includes creation of an eight-kilometre cycling track around the Taj and boating facility on the Yamuna.

Besides asking for “more suggestions on developing areas around the Taj Mahal”, he has also sought a draft project report from the departments concerned within a month. The projects around the World Heritage monument would be taken up under the Nature Walk projects and eco-tourism vision of the state government, an official told IANS. Under the proposed project, the Taj Safari, Mumtaaz Eco-park, Camel Safari would be developed.

Efforts were also on to begin the facility of boating in the Yamuna and allow tourists to view the Taj from the river, which flows adjacent to the monument to love. The Uttar Pradesh government, officials said, was serious about developing green patches and promoting tourism in a big way at Agra.

At a recent meeting with officials, the chief secretary also asked them to ensure greenery in the area, water conservation in the ravines, creation of a new nature trail, creation of a new habitat for birds in the area and to further work on the green forest areas around the Taj.

It has also been decided that the financial bearing on the said projects would be borne by the Agra Development Authority (ADA), the UP Forest Corporation and the union ministries of tourism and culture and forest and environment. The project report would be referred first to Aawas Vikaas, Forest department, and after a threadbare study of the issues, the matter would be taken to the chief minister for his approval.

The Akhilesh Yadav government has recently approved an ambitious multi-million infrastructure development project for the neighbouring towns of Mathura and Vrindavan. The tourism department, along with the development authorities of these towns, has been asked to take up infrastructure development on a priority basis. This, an official said, would include sprucing and upgradation of the Govardhan Parikrama path, establishment of 33/11 KW sub-stations, double circuit underground cable laying, establishing 40 new transformers, landscaping, setting up of kiosks, renovation of ancient water bodies, ponds and broadening of roads and lighting up the pathways. A project report for the same has also been asked for.

Bihar police chief Abhyanand told IANS over telephone that the French tourists were detained for violating visa rules as they participated in a meeting organised by an NGO.

“We got information Saturday that some French tourists were moving in the interior part of Nawada. We alerted district police that located them as they were moving with members of the NGO in its padyatra and participated in a meeting,” he said.

Abhyanand said that it amounted to violation of visa rules as they had tourist visas but took part in the activities of the NGO.

“It was an open violation of tourist visas,” he said.

According to officials in Nawada, the French tourists were sent outside the state following an order from the state administration.

Police also informed the French embassy about the incident.

Over three dozen tourists were injured by wasps in the last three days near Bodh Gaya.

“Most of the victims of wasp attacks are Buddhist pilgrims from Sri Lanka and Combodia. They were injured when wasps attacked them on way to Gurupadgiri hill to perform worship,” said an official of the Bodh Gaya temple.

A Bihar tourism department official said: “We have appealed to tourists not to fear wasp attacks in Bodh Gaya. It is a safe place.”

ASI Patna circle’s Superintending Archaeologist Sanjay K. Manjul said that conservation work of the remains of the ancient university would begin next month.

“ASI has decided to take up excavation over 116 acres of land not excavated earlier,” he said.

He said all this would help the Bihar government’s move to develop Vikramshila’s ruins as a tourist destination like Nalanda, situated around 90 km from the state capital.

The ASI has roped in the National Culture Fund (NCF) and the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to conserve its excavated ruins with an initial investment of Rs.2 crore.

“The conservation of 208 shells or reading room-like structures adjoining the main stupa and a major portion of the excavated structure will be taken up,” another official said.

Vikramshila University was set up by the Pala dynasty (750-1174 A.D) king Dharmapala in the late 8th or early 9th century.

The site is located near Antichak village in Bhagalpur district. It was among the most important centres of Buddhist learning in ancient India.

But the remains of Vikramshila University have been neglected for years.

The cave shrine is situated at the height of 3,888 meters above sea level and has two routes leading to it, one from Pahalgam, about 100 km from here, and another from Baltal, 110 kms from Srinagar.

The minister has also ordered establishment of transit camps along National Highway from Lakhanpur (gateway to Jammu and Kashmir) to Sonamarg and Pahalgam (two base camps of the two routes).

The department also decided to set up Shelter Units at various locations along the yatra routes, up-gradation of Medical Facilities, strengthening of Water Supply System at base camps and halting places enroute.

As the pilgrimage routes pass through high mountains and glaciers, involving a steep climb, most of the track despite clearance of snow is slippery and full of slush, making it difficult for the pilgrims to survive the tortuous terrain.

An ice lingam or a naturally made stalagmite of snow considered as an icon of Lord Shiva, Hindu god of construction and destruction, is the main attraction of the cave shrine.

More than 630,000 pilgrims had visited the shrine last year, breaking all the previous records. The myth goes that Lord Shiva had narrated the tale of immortality to his consort Parvati at the cave, thus it is known as “Amarnath” meaning immortality.

Growingly large number of pilgrims have been losing their lives during the annual Shri Amarnathji pilgrimage, particularly due to cardiac related ailments.

It was noted that in 2009 around 45 people died during the pilgrimage, in 2010 it was 68 and in 2011 107 people lost their lives.

Hence, the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, that looks after the conduct of pilgrimage has underlined physical fitness of the pilgrims, and also laying more focus on healthcare provisions. Jora said: “There will be complete synergy between Shri Amarnath Shrine Board and Tourism department for preparations and conduct of the pilgrimage.”

Preeti Singh, the chairperson of the Bodhgaya Nagar Panchayat, said: “The objective behind installing the solar streetlights is to save power and ensure uninterrupted lighting arrangement in the heritage city.”

The cost of  installting 470 solar lights is expected to be around Rs 5.3 crores and is getting financial support from UK-based Department for International Development

The eight stretches identified for the project are from the Bodhgaya Nagar Panchayat office to Surajpura (50 lights) and Tika Bigha (30), Sujata Bypass to old block office (90), Bhagalpur Road (100), Root Institute to Mor (17), Daheriya Bigha to Tekuna Mor (100), Ningma monastery to Rampur (33) and Hotel Embassy to Miyan Bigha (50).

Electric poles with an underground cable network will be laid every 30m on the identified roads.

At least 83 mini high- mast lights would also be installed in the Bodhgaya Nagar Panchayat area, including the periphery of Kalchakra Ground and primary health centres.

For that shape was none other than a snow leopard – the mysterious, secretive and most endangered cat of Asia.

“We had set up four camera traps just a few kilometres away from the Line of Control (LoC) in October 2010. They have now yielded more than 500 snaps. This is the first time that snow leopards have been shot by camera traps. In 2009, I had shot one with a hand-held camera,” researcher Aishwarya Maheshwari who led the WWF team that set the traps told IANS.

Maheshwari’s achievement received an enthusiastic response from India’s environmental community. “It shows that wildlife can survive in conflict zones too,” feels Maheshwari.

The snow leopard (Panthera Uncia) is mainly found in mountainous central and south Asia, in mountain ranges like the Altai, Pamirs, Tian Shan, Kunlun, Hindu Kush, Karakoram and the Himalayas.

Koustubh Sharma, senior regional ecologist at the India chapter of the US-based Snow Leopard Conservation Trust, says, “Snow leopards are found across 12 countries and an area of two million sq km. As few as 3,500 or 7,000 individuals are believed to be left in the wild. In India, a ball park estimate is that of about 700-1,000 individuals.”

Given that the snow leopard’s range covers some of the highest mountains of the world, research on the animal has always been difficult, if not impossible. Says Maheshwari, “It is very difficult to sight a snow leopard. For one, their range covers several international borders and conflict zones. Secondly, they are mostly found in mountainous areas, above the tree line, usually starting at 3,000 metres. In such regions, biologists can only work during short summers and not winters when temperatures dip. A lack of logistic support thus hinders research,” Maheshwari told IANS.

But research is what is needed most today as poaching, habitat and prey base loss and retaliatory killings by humans contrive to deplete snow leopard populations.

“The major threat to the animal is from loss of natural prey due to high human usage of alpine pastures by livestock. This brings the snow leopard into conflict with local human interests since they are forced to prey on livestock. Often, they are poisoned or killed due to this conflict. Also there is a huge price for the pelt of the snow leopard in the international market,” says Dr. Y.V. Jhala, one of India’s foremost big cat experts.

Sharma also feels that approaches to snow leopard conservation need to vary from region to region. “It highlights the fact that landscape/site specific conservation models need to be used for saving snow leopards,” he says.

In 2009, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests launched the ambitious “Project Snow Leopard” for conserving the population of the snow leopard in five Indian Himalayan states – Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. The results have so far been mixed.

“Nothing much has happened on the ground,” says Qamar Qureshi, senior scientist and researcher at the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII).

However, Sharma strikes an optimistic note: “Project Snow Leopard aims at holistic conservation of the species while using efficient monitoring protocols.”

Across Asia too, scientists are hopeful that the greatest difficulty facing the snow leopard might in fact become a boon for its conservation. The animal’s range straddles some of the most strife-torn conflict zones in the world – Xinjiang, Tibet, Afghanistan, Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh. But political turmoil might turn out to be a saviour.

“International boundaries are the best hopes for the survival of wildlife. Most animals thrive when human use of the land is low or absent – this being the case on disputed borders. The Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea is a boon for wildlife,” says Jhala.

Dr. Bilal Habib, research scientist at the WII, told IANS: “Political instability may have hindered in knowing exact numbers or other research aspects. But from a conservation perspective, the turmoil has actually helped wildlife to recover in such areas.”

In the end, feels Sharma, the conservation of the snow leopard is of absolute importance. “Snow leopards are the thermometers of the mountain ecosystem. They are also one of the most charismatic cats adapted to living in these high altitudes. It is important that we save this species.”

The temple, to be built at a cost of Rs.100 crore would be a recreation of the world-famous Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia.

“Our thrust is to recreate the Angkor Wat temple on a sprawling 30 acres of land surrounded by greenery,” Acharya Kishore Kunal, a retired IPS officer and the man behind the mega project told IANS.

According to him, the five-storied and 222-feet tall temple will be the tallest structure of its kind in the world.

“Land worth around Rs.30 crore has already been acquired for the purpose from locals,” Kunal,secretary of the cash-rich Mahavir Mandir Trust, which is building the temple, said.

The proposed temple will be named ‘Virat Angkor Wat Ram Mandir’ and it will house the idols of Radha-Krishna, Shiva-Parvati, Ganesh, Surya, Vishnu and the ‘Dashavataram’, the ten incarnations of Vishnu.

It will take upto five years to construct the temple and another five years to give the final finishing touches to it.

On selection of the specific site for construction of the world’s largest Hindu temple, Kunal said the place has mythological significance as it was said that the Ramayana characters, namely Ram, Lakshman and Vishvamitra had set foot on the site and were welcomed by the King Sumati of the Vaishali kingdom.

The Angkor Wat temple was built in Cambodia in the 12th century during the rule of the then Cambodian king Suryavarman (1141-1152 AD). It is a listed UNESCO-world heritage site.

It will be 5 storied, 222 feet tall and will be spread over 15 acres making a replica of World’s famous Angkor Watt. It would be located at a place near Ismailpur village on Hajipur-Bidupur road, which will be renamed as Angkor Nagar, BMMT’s secretary and ex-IPS officer Acharya Kishore Kunal said. The land acquisition has already been done.

The proposed temple will be named ‘Virat Angkor Wat Ram Mandir’ and it will house the statues of Radha-Krishna, Shiva-Parvati, Ganesh, Surya, Vishnu and ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu.

It will take upto five years to construct the temple and another five years to give the final finishing touches to it, Kunal said.

On selection of the specific site for construction of the world’s largest Hindu temple, he said the place has mythological significance as it was said that the deities Ram, Lakshman and Vishvamitra had set their foot on the village and were welcomed by the King Sumati of the Vaishali kingdom.

The ‘bhumi pujan’ for the proposed temple will be held tomorrow, Kunal said adding the temple was being constructed to mark the centenary celebrations of the BMMTs.

The Angkor Wat was built in Cambodia by the Khmer civilization to honor the memory of Suryavarman II(1141-1152 AD), the king of the Khmer during a portion of the 12th century. As intended, Suryavarman II was entombed inside the Angkor Wat and it was made to be a Hindu temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu.