Jammu, July 1: Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha will flag off the first batch of Amarnath Yatra pilgrims for the twin base camps in Kashmir from Jammu amid tight security on Wednesday.
The 38-day yatra to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas will commence on July 3 from both traditional 48-kilometre Nunwan-Pahalgam route in south Kashmir and shorter (14 kilometres) Baltal route in central Kashmir.
The yatra will conclude on August 9.
The Yatra will be flagged off by the Lieutenant Governor on Wednesday from Yatri Niwas, Bhagwati Nagar, Jammu.
The Lieutenant Governor today visited Yatri Niwas at Bhagwati Nagar and reviewed arrangements for the pilgrims.
He took stock of food and lodging of the pilgrims, security, registration counters, power and water supply, health facilities, help desks, sanitation, transportation and emergency services.
He interacted with devotees and extended his warm wishes to pilgrims for a safe, blessed and spiritually fulfilling experience
Addressing the media persons on the sidelines of his visit, the Lieutenant Governor said a large number of devotees from across the country have arrived for the Yatra, which begins from Jammu tomorrow morning.
“Amarnath Yatra is a serene, enlightening and lifelong experience. May their pilgrimage be filled with joy, peace, and spiritual bliss. Improved arrangements have been made for the convenience of the pilgrims. We must carry forward the traditions of J&K and make this yatra a huge success,” the Lieutenant Governor said.
The Lieutenant Governor was accompanied by DGP Nalin Prabhat; ADG CRPF, Rajesh Kumar; Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Ramesh Kumar; IGP Jammu Bhim Sen Tuti; Deputy Commissioner Jammu, Sachin Kumar Vaishya and senior officials from civil administration, police and security forces.
According to officials, over 3,31,000 devotees have registered for this year’s yatra so far.
On-the-spot registration of devotees arriving in Jammu for the yatra has also started.
Nearly 4,000 tokens have been distributed during the past two days, the officials said.
“The registration is being done at three centres — Vaishnavi Dham, Panchayat Bhawan, and Mahajan Sabha. Saraswati Dham is the only centre from where devotees can get the token. The centres opened at 7 am,” officials said.
They said registration of sadhus has begun at the Ram temple in Jammu.
Over 300 sadhus from various parts of the country have arrived at the Ram temple complex, which serves as the base camp for them, they said, adding boarding and lodging arrangements have been made for them here.
“Arrangements have been made to provide boarding and lodging facilities for over 50,000 people at various lodgement centres across the Jammu region, from Lakhanpur to Banihal. A total of 106 lodgement centres have been set up for the purpose,” Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar told reporters here.
“The first batch of the yatra will leave Jammu base camp in Bhagwati Nagar for Kashmir on Wednesday. It will be flagged off by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha,” Divisional Commissioner Jammu Ramesh Kumar said.
The devotees will be ferried to the twin base camps of Pahalgam and Baltal amid heavy security escort, traffic restrictions and area domination along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
Traffic restrictions will be imposed on various routes from July 2 to August 9, with daily advisories issued to minimise inconvenience, a traffic officer said, adding that cut-off timings have been fixed for each sector on the highway, which is monitored through CCTVs.
Over 3,500 pilgrims have reached the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas Jammu, according to the officials.
Jammu has been put under a security blanket with enhanced security measures, including a multi-layer security grid and the use of technology for surveillance.
Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Security Wing has taken charge of the Bhagwati Nagar base camp while the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is managing security around the base camp.
The Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu serves as the primary base camp for pilgrims from across the country before they proceed to the cave shrine of Amarnath
Santokh Singh of Punjab, who checked into the Bhagwati Nagar base camp, said it is the ninth time that he is visiting the cave shrine.
“I am happy to get my registration done. I will travel in the first batch from Jammu tomorrow for Amarnath and will be among the first to have darshan of the ice lingam,” he said.
Another pilgrim, Uma Shakla of Uttarakhand, expressed happiness over travelling in the first batch following her on-the-spot registration.
“I am very happy that I am now going to pay obeisance at Amarnath in the first batch,” she said.
A total of 180 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), which is 30 more than previous years, have been deployed for the security of the annual Amarnath Yatra in Jammu region.