Srinagar

The Jammu and Kashmir government has asked the Surveyor General of India to conduct digital contour mapping of the Amarnath cave and its adjoining areas.

The move comes in the backdrop of a cloudburst on July 8 that claimed 16 lives and scores injured.

The survey will recommend steps to be taken to prevent the loss of human lives in case of natural calamities.

It is believed that in the absence of the bund (embankment) constructed there by the Irrigation and Flood Control department, the casualties due to the recent cloudburst would have been more.

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Every Yatri is insured and the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) will provide cash assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to the next of kin of those who lost their lives.