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The Amarnath pilgrims, who are returning from the holy cave, say though the government has fixed the rates for services, they have to pay hefty amount of money to avail them during the yatra.

“The ponywallahs and porters charge as per their wish; if we try to bargain they simply refuse to provide the service,” says Vijay Kumar, a resident of New Delhi.

“There is total lawlessness. Even the police is not taking any action against the violators,” he adds.

The pilgrims say the people who have installed tents to give it on rent indulge in overcharging and the pilgrims are left with no option but to pay the amount.

Though the government had fixed a rent of Rs 120 per person per night but most of pilgrims say they had to pay more than Rs 10,000 to hire a tent for their family.

“As they see the rush of pilgrims they auction the tent,” said Mukesh Mahajan, a resident of Punjab.

The government has fixed an amount of Rs 2,800 as pony rent but the pilgrims say that the ponywallahs charge them more than Rs 6,000.

Arun Kumar, CEO of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, told The Tribune, “We can do nothing in this regard as this is the duty of the district administration, if there is any complaint it should be brought into the notice of civil administration and action needs to be taken against the guilty.”

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