Amarnath yatra begins today, Rajnath Singh in first batch

The first batch of 1,282 Amarnath pilgrims arrived in the Valley from Jammu on Friday evening and will split into two groups overnight before relocating to the base-camps of Baltal and Pahalgam before heading for Amarnath.

The annual pilgrimage through rugged hills to a 12,729-foot-high cave-shrine in the Himalayas in Kashmir — and spreading over 48 days — will officially begin on Saturday, coinciding with Massik Shivratri, an auspicious day for Hindus, and conclude on Shravan Purnima or Raksha Bandhan, which will fall on August 18. As many as half-a-million devotees are expected to visit the revered place of worship in 2016.

Among the devotees visiting the cave-shrine on the first day of the yatra will be Union home minister Rajnath Singh, who arrived here on Friday for a two-day visit.

On Friday, J&K deputy chief minister, Dr Nirmal Singh, flagged off the first batch of 1,282 pilgrims from Jammu’s Yatri Niwas amid chanting of “Bam Bam Bhole” by the worshippers, including 900 men, 225 women, 13 children, 144 male sadhus and a sadhvi. The deputy chief minister waved the green flag to the first bus in a convoy of 33 vehicles, and prior to it, while speaking on the occasion, assured the pilgrims that the government has made all arrangements, including security, for them and others who would be visiting the place of worship.

Last year over 3,52,000 devotees paid obeisance at Amarnath. This year, about half a million devotees are expected to visit the place of worship. A spokesman of the SASB, however, reiterated that considering the present carrying capacity of the tracks, available infrastructure in the yatra area and all other relevant considerations it has been decided that, excluding yatris who would travel by helicopters on either route to Panjtarni, 7,500 pilgrims each would be allowed to embark on the journey daily from traditional Pahalgam route through south of the Valley and shorter Baltal route via capital Srinagar. Reports from Pahalgam and Baltal said that thousands of worshippers have already arrived at these base-camps and are eager to begin their journeys towards the cave-shrine as early as possible. As many 12,500 personnel from CRPF and other central forces and another 8,000 men from the J&K police have been deployed en-route to facilitate smooth conduct of the yatra. Also, columns of Army have been requisitioned by the authorities to strengthen the security cover for the pilgrimage, official sources here said. The J&K government has, meanwhile, set up a helpline to facilitate the pilgrims. It will function from 9 am to 7 pm on all days till the conclusion of the yatra, deputy chief minister Mr. Singh who launched it in Jammu said. He added that any person can call on 0191-2555781 or 09622113113 contacts numbers to seek information or assistance with regard to the registration, medical certification and other related aspects of yatra.