No heli-taxi services for Manimahesh today as devotees camp at helipad

The heli-taxi services to the Manimahesh Lake will come to a halt on Saturday as devotees from Jammu and Kashmir’s Bhaderwah region, arriving for the annual pilgrimage, have set up their camp at the Bharmour helipad for a stopover. Devotees accompanying the sacred ‘mace’ of Lord Shiva arrived at Bharmour on Friday evening.

For several years now, the pilgrims from Bhaderwah have been camping at the helipad, affecting helicopter services. However, the local administration has failed to find a permanent solution to the problem as there is no other helipad in the area.

The devotees will stay at the site on Friday and Saturday before leaving for Manimahesh on Sunday. The heli-taxi services will resume after the devotees vacate the helipad.

Every year, the Bharmour helipad is kept vacant for two days for the pilgrims coming from Bhaderwah. During this time, no other activities are organised at the ground which serves as the helipad.

This tradition of devotees coming from Bhaderwah dates back to ancient times, when kings granted devotees from Jammu the right to camp here. Consequently, all activities at the helipad, including heli-taxi services, are halted during this period.

Meanwhile, the acting Additional District Magistrate, Bharmour, Kulbir Singh Rana, said a proposal has been made to set up a new helipad at Chalaid near Bharmour town, for which the clearance under the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) was awaited. Until a new helipad comes up, the chopper service will operate from the present site.

However, the pilgrims from Jammu will camp here for two days, following their age-old tradition, and the administration has ensured elaborate arrangements to make their stay comfortable. The local administration has engaged two aviation companies for providing heli-taxi services during the Manimahesh Yatra this year.

The flights are conducted from Bharmour to Gauri Kund near the sacred lake.

Meanwhile, another group of pilgrims from Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir have reached the chaugan in Chamba. They performed a ‘parikrama’ (circumambulation) of the chaugan while singing devotional songs. As per the tradition, the pilgrims from Jammu stop at the chaugan, perform the ‘parikrama’ and after staying for a day, proceed for the Manimahesh Yatra.