Jammu and Kashmir is gearing up to receive more than half-a-million pilgrims to the 12,729-foot-high Amarnath cave shrine in Pahalgam hills during the upcoming yatra. The annual event will unfold early next week with the arrival of the first batches of pilgrims at the base camps of Chandan-wari (Pahalgam) in south Kashmir and Baltal in the north of the Valley.
Already, more than 350,000 devotees from across the country have got themselves registered through the designated branches and J&K Bank, Yes Bank and 102 post offices, besides online registration through the J&K Bank’s official website. Since the online registration has been most favoured with the intending pilgrims, who apparently have found it comparatively more convenient, the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) on Friday decided to release additional quota for the convenience of those who have yet to secure registration. “The additional online registration quota has been released in order to ensure that all intending pilgrims reach the base camps only after having got themselves registered,” said Navin K. Choudhary, CEO of the SASB.
Various state government departments and agencies are all set to receive the pilgrims. Security forces, including the J&K police, the CRPF and the Army too have already stepped in to lend their hand in ensuring smooth and peaceful yatra. It will officially commence simultaneously along both the shorter Baltal via Srinagar and traditional Pahalgam-Chandanwari in southern Valley routes on June 25 and conclude on August 2, coinciding with Raksha Bandhan. The first caravan of the pilgrims will leave Jammu for the Valley on June 24 morning and reach Pahalgam and Baltal the same evening, before embarking on the foot journey Amarnath, officials here said.
Jammu and Kashmir governor N.N. Vohra, who is also chairman of the SASB, on Friday reviewed the to-date status of the registration process and the ongoing arrangements for the yatra in a meeting held at Raj Bhavan here.