
Seventh batch of 7541 Amarnath pilgrims leaves from Jammu
Jammu, July 8 (UNI) The seventh batch of 7541 pilgrims of Shri Amarnath Yatra amid the chants of 'Bam Bam Bhole' this morning left for the holy cave shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas here from the Bhagwati Nagar-based Yatri Niwas.
Official sources said that the pilgrims left from the Jammu base camp in a fleet of 309 vehicles.
"The seventh batch of 7541 pilgrims this morning left for Shri Amarnath Yatra cave shrine in Kashmir from the Jammu base camp amid tight security arrangements," they added.
They said that 4220 pilgrims left for Pahalgam and 3221 for Baltal in a fleet of 309 vehicles comprising Light Motor Vehicles and Heavy Motor Vehicles.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday flagged off the first batch of pilgrims from here.
UNI VBH ARN

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
14 hours ago
- Time of India
Bhopal airport boosts its loo infra with ‘family toilets'
B hopal: The Raja Bhoj Airport in Bhopal has launched a 'Family Toilet' concept, which has drawn applause from passengers as they find their travel smooth and easy by accessing it. Director Ramjee Awasthi, said, "The Bhopal-based airport is undertaking extensive upgrades to its washroom infrastructure, with a focus on ensuring superior hygiene standards and easy access for all travellers. The modernisation work is being executed in phases and is scheduled to be finished by the end of Oct." He added, "A total of eight toilet units (comprising gents, ladies, and Divyangjan facilities) were planned for renovation. Out of these, four units were renovated under the phased execution plan. The renovation work, which commenced in Feb, is scheduled to be fully completed by Oct." Family toilets at the airport are designated restrooms that cater to the needs of families travelling with young children or individuals needing assistance. They often include features like diaper changing stations, child-friendly facilities, and sometimes even seating areas. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Why Seniors Are Snapping Up This TV Box, We Explain! Techno Mag Learn More Undo These specialised restrooms aim to provide a more comfortable and convenient experience for families compared to standard restrooms. "Being a single mother, I encounter challenges when accompanying my son to restrooms. The availability of family toilets has effectively addressed this issue at the airport. It would be beneficial to have similar family washroom facilities installed across various public venues," said Anita Verma, a passenger. These improvements are already showing positive results, with Raja Bhoj Airport receiving favourable ratings for cleanliness and service standards in recent AAI evaluations.


India.com
17 hours ago
- India.com
Bad news for Pakistan supporter Turkey as Ankara's tourism economy sinks due to…, Erdogan staring at destruction due to…
Bad news for Pakistan supporter Turkey as Ankara's tourism economy sinks due to…, Erdogan staring at destruction due to… After Ankara came out in support of Pakistan during the recent India-Pakistan war, a 'Boycott Turkey' campaign was started in India as Indians boycotted Turkish goods and cancelled tourist bookings to the country. Advertisement (File) Turkey, which openly supported Pakistan during the recent India-Pakistan conflict after Operation Sindoor, is now paying a heavy price of the decision, as Ankara's tourism economy has dipped by a massive 37 percent, primarily because of Indian tourists boycotting the country as a tourist destination. Why India's boycott hit Turkish economy? After Ankara came out in support of Pakistan during the recent India-Pakistan war, a 'Boycott Turkey' campaign was started in India as Indians boycotted Turkish goods and cancelled tourist bookings to the country, resulting in a huge decline in the number of Indian tourists visiting to Turkey. Advertisement === According to media reports, the number of Indian tourists who visited Turkey in June slumped to 24,250 from the 38,307 in the same month last year, a decline of 37 percent, while the numbers also dropped significantly in the month of May, dealing a major blow to Turkey's tourism industry and its economy. Notably, India-based travel portals such as MakeMyTrip, EaseMyTrip and Cleartrip have also stopped promoting Turkey as a tourist destination, resulting in further decline. Advertisement === Following Turkey's open support to Pakistan, India took a slew of measures to downgrade ties with Eurasian country, including cancelling major business deals with Turkish firms. How Turkey supported Pakistan during Operation Sindoor? Turkey, along with China and Azerbaijan, was among the few countries that openly supported Pakistan during the recent India-Pakistan conflict, and also armed the Pakistani forces with advanced military drones like the Bayraktar TB2, which were actively used against Indian installations during Operation Sindoor. Following the conflict, Turkey has boosted its strategic and military ties with Pakistan, and is likely to offer its state-of-the-art ALKA-KAPLAN laser tank to Islamabad, which could pose a major threat to India as it would significantly boost the enemy's capability to counter Indian UCAVs, such as those used to target terrorist and military infrastructure in Pakistan during Operation Sindoor


The Hindu
20 hours ago
- The Hindu
Crowds, Bollywood music and celebrity tigers: Are Indian safaris getting out of hand?
When Arrowhead, one of Ranthambore National Park's favourite tigers, died of cancer, the Internet exploded with tributes. However, wildlife biologist Sanjay Gubbi, whose work focusses on the conservation of large carnivores such as tigers and leopards, believes that selective sympathies towards animals that have attained celebrity status, often because of their popularity with tourists, may be somewhat misplaced. He argues that tourists who enter protected parks with large cameras and have an immense social media following push for policies and management that are completely unscientific. 'People may go on a safari and take a picture of a tiger limping or a wounded elephant and come back and put it on social media, putting pressure on the government to treat it,' says the wildlife conservationist, who firmly believes that we should not interfere in the lives of animals, especially large animals like tigers and elephants, which have few natural enemies in the wild. 'If we start treating animals like humans, and the natural mortality comes down, the population goes up artificially,' he says. And, 'since habitat is not expanding, this could lead to human-animal conflict.' According to conservationists, there are other equally serious aspects of tiger tourism, which has seen a steady rise in recent years, that need to be considered, including the impact of risky tourist behaviour (making loud noises, getting off vehicles during safaris or misusing mobile phones) and the creation of infrastructure that exceeds the carrying capacity of these forests. 'I am not againsttourism,' says Dharmendra Khandal, the executive director of Tiger Watch, a leading wildlife conservation NGO working in Ranthambore. 'But the way it is going on, it needs some kind of correction.' Tiger tourism rising India has 58 protected areas designated as tiger reserves, established under Project Tiger, the tiger conservation programme launched by the Indian Government in 1973. According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) website, ecotourism in these reserves is supposed to emphasise low-impact activities, such as guided nature walks and safari tours, promoting a deeper understanding of the delicate ecosystems that support these magnificent big cats. 'Strict regulations are in place to ensure minimal disruption to the natural habitats, safeguarding the vulnerable tiger population,' it further states. Tourist footfall in these reserves has been steadily increasing in recent years. The Kaziranga National Park in Assam, for instance, welcomed over 3.4 lakh tourists in the previous financial year, marking a 30% increase compared to last year, according to the park's website, while the Kanha Tiger Reserve has already had nearly 2.58 lakh visitors in 2025, 'a surge of nearly 16,000 more tourists compared to the previous year. ' In the view of Chandreyi Bandyopadhyay, Nagpur-based wildlife writer and enthusiast, who has been visiting tiger reserves since childhood, the rise and rise of tiger tourism has been putting things out of balance. 'Wildlife tourism was specific to hobbyists and real enthusiasts, unlike now. It is now driven by increased accessibility and popularity of individual tigers,' she says. The focus, earlier, she believes, was on inbound tourism, something that has changed markedly since the COVID pandemic, with more and more people opting to holiday in forests, and an obsession to see tigers in the wild, 'because sightings increased and social media came in. There are daily updates on where you can spot a tiger.' This tourist frenzy — to sight a tiger and get Instagram-worthy photographs — often leads to a flouting of protocol for safaris laid down by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which include regulations on vehicular movement and maintaining a safe distance from the animal. According to a recent study, published in ScienceDirect in 2024, the rise of social media platforms, the phenomenon of 'micro-celebrity' status, and the quest to share high-quality, dramatic images have influenced the way people behave in nature and around wildlife. 'The pursuit to gain influence, followers and/or a sense of gratification through virtual praise has the potential to increase risk-taking behaviour, promote unethical practices and create unrealistic expectations for nature appreciation.' Or as T Shatru, a Chennai-based wildlife enthusiast and amateur photographer, rather candidly puts it. 'At the end of the day, tourists want to see a tiger, and they can be idiots,' he says, recalling his last encounter with Chota Matka aka T-126, one of the best-known tigers of Maharashtra's Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, says, 'There were nearly 30 jeeps, blocking the road, not allowing him to walk. And everyone was honking, yelling and trying to get as close as possible.' While parks are doing their best to minimise poor behaviour — mobile phones are banned inside reserves like Pench and Tadoba Tiger Reserves during safaris, for instance — Chandreyi feels that heftier penalties on tourists who flout safari protocols may be necessary. Guides and drivers are penalised for not adhering to protocol, but badly behaved guests rarely are, she says. 'I think, like for flying, people who disregard the rules of the forest despite being warned by guides must be blacklisted.' This tiger obsession among tourists is also emblematic of a larger problem with the country's conservation narrative. 'In many ways, it has been both a blessing and a blind spot for conservation in India,' says naturalist Arjun Manjunath, the lead trainer and wildlife advisor at the Bamboo Forest Nature Conservancy, an ecolodge and conservancy located in Gothangaon, Maharashtra. While he is aware of the animal's charisma and ability to draw people to it, he believes that 'too much focus on the tiger leads to a narrow set of experiences, and you end up neglecting the larger ecosystem.' Striking a balance As more and more tourists flock to these reserves, hoping to sight a big cat, another major issue crops up: unmitigated development within and around tiger reserves. While the NTCA has laid out rules for tourism in tiger reserves, stating that it needs to be 'contemplated as ecotourism…ecologically sustainable Nature tourism,' this does not always hold on the ground. 'There are very few examples of real ecotourism in this country,' believes Sanjay, pointing out that simply going to a natural landscape filled with wildlife does not mean that it is ecotourism. In his opinion, the larger impact of infrastructure creation in these parks to support tourism is a major cause for concern. 'If you look at the Corbett Tiger Reserve, it is now ensconced all around with tourist infrastructure, cutting off tiger corridors, organising Bollywood-styled wedding parties that create huge noise pollution in addition to the other stress on resources, etc, that sort of thing.' Ranthambore is another reserve that 'is going in a very wrong direction,' feels Dharmendra. 'They are developing wedding hotels in Ranthambore, because this is now a destination wedding area,' he says. 'It is not a sin to get married here, but when you include 1,000 people, shouting, music, a DJ, lights, crackers, it is a problem.' Drawing the line between conservation and sustainable development is always a challenge, believes L Krishnamoorthy, additional principal chief conservator of forests in Madhya Pradesh. 'Conservation is a complex thing, where everyone's support is needed,' he says. 'We have to assume that it is a multifarious activity where many people are involved.' However, he firmly believes that ecotourism, when done correctly, is an integral part of conservation. 'Ecotourism is important for creating awareness about wildlife, creating job opportunities for local communities and also to generate resources that can go towards park management initiatives,' he says. Managing conflict Another cause for concern is that wildlife tourism could exacerbate the already serious issue of human-animal conflicts in and around tiger reserves. While local communities have traditionally coexisted with wildlife for centuries, the situation is changing rapidly. Forest cover is shrinking even as the human population and that of some wild animals, such as the tiger, are increasing. Besides, many people living within the notified core areas of the tiger reserves have been and continue to be relocated, often against their will. The tourism juggernaut, too, does not help. 'They (locals) bear the cost of conservation, while the excitement of conservation is enjoyed by a rich tourist, the social influencer or the photographer. If such people can also become promoters of conservation, then their endeavours will have meaning and benefit wildlife,' says Sanjay. Prioritising local communities for employment activities, something that is already happening in Madhya Pradesh, as Krishnamoorthy points out, could help mitigate the conflict. 'Whether it is the guide, protection watcher, driver or gypsy owner, almost everybody is from the local community. Our objective is to involve local communities so that the conservation benefits are brought back to them. Wherever the tourism zones are joining villages, community tolerance is high because they know they are getting livelihood opportunities and the visibility because of the tiger,' he says. While community engagement is certainly crucial to the country's complex conservation narrative, it is also clear that mass wildlife tourism, centred around the commodification of tiger sightings, even when branded as sustainable tourism or ecotourism, is not enough. For starters, 'ecotourism is often an ill-used word,' believes Arjun, adding that 'it won't work' if one is building large luxury properties and hiring people from top hotel management schools in these reserves, since 'local involvement is zero in this case,' he says. At a broader level, it may also be necessary to reassess our priorities regarding the role of tourism in conservation itself, as Sanjay implies. 'The larger argument has been that since tourism brings in revenue, we need to have it to conserve these areas. But I feel that conservation is like education and health; you can't expect to generate revenue out of it,' he says, adding that one needs to see wildlife tourism as an educational tool, not an economic model. 'Keep it at a minimal carrying capacity and accessible to the public. You shouldn't make tourism expensive and out of reach of common people'.