Srinagar: Flagged by Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday morning from Jammu, the 38-day-long Amarnath Yatra to the 3,880-metre-high shrine commenced on Thursday via the twin tracks — the traditional 48-km-long Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the 14-km shorter but steeper Baltal route in Ganderbal district.
Amid tight security arrangements, the first batch of 5,485 pilgrims who had left Jammu yesterday began their journey to the holy cave shrine of Lord Shiva early this morning.
Pilgrims were flagged off from the twin base camps of Nunwan in Pahalgam and Baltal in Sonmarg, chanting ‘Har Har Mahadev’ and ‘Bum Bum Bhole’ as they proceeded towards Chandanwari.
In South Kashmir, Anantnag District Development Commissioner Sayed Fakhar-ud-Din Hamid, along with civil and police officials, flagged off the pilgrims from the Nunwan base camp in Pahalgam. Similar arrangements were made in the Ganderbal district for the Baltal route.
Elaborate security measures have been put in place, ensuring the safety of pilgrims along the entire route with the deployment of security forces. The Facial Recognition System (FRS) is being used to ensure the security of pilgrims, and the yatra routes have been declared as no-fly zones. Pilgrims in the first batch arrived in Kashmir a day earlier under heavy security cover.
The second batch of pilgrims includes 4,074 men, 786 women, and 19 children. A group of pilgrims on their way to the shrine said they were not deterred by the April 22 Pahalgam attack that left 26 people dead.
“We do not fear terrorists or Pakistan, which has engineered attacks on innocent and unarmed tourists. It is a cowardly act. They cannot stop us from paying obeisance at Baba Barfani by triggering fear through terror incidents such as Pahalgam,” Harish Kumar, a resident of Raipur and part of a 37-member group of devotees, said.
Like him, Mukhtar Singh, who left for Amarnath along with a group of 20 members from Kanpur, said they do not have the slightest fear. “The increasing number of pilgrims thronging the yatra will send a befitting reply to terrorists and Pakistan that we do not fear them,” he said.
A multi-tier security setup has been activated in and around the Bhagwati Nagar base camp for the annual pilgrimage. Thirty-four accommodation centres have been set up across Jammu, and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are being issued to the pilgrims. Twelve counters have been set up for the on-the-spot registration of pilgrims who intend to undertake the yatra. So far, more than 3.5 lakh people have registered themselves online for the pilgrimage.
The yatra will conclude on August 9, coinciding with Raksha Bandhan.
