Shiv Sena (UBT) demands highway toll exemption for Amarnath pilgrims

The Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Shiv Sena (UBT) on Friday demanded free registration and highway toll exemption for Amarnath pilgrims.

The registration for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage began on April 17. The 62-day pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in south Kashmir is scheduled to start on July 1.

Manish Sahni, the president of the Jammu and Kashmir unit of the Shiv Sena (UBT), said it was unfortunate that there was no positive response to their demands even after repeated representations to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta.

"If there is no positive response to our demands for free registration for pilgrims and toll exemption for their vehicles within a week, a nationwide agitation will be launched," he told reporters here.