Follow Us
Arteev Sharma
Tribune News Service
Jammu, June 28
Religious fervour today marked the beginning of the annual Amarnath yatra from Jammu as the first batch of 2,280 pilgrims, including 422 women and 47 sadhus, left for the Kashmir valley amid multi-tier security arrangements.
Escorted by CRPF and J&K Police personnel, a convoy of 72 vehicles, including 46 buses and 26 light motor vehicles, carrying pilgrims was flagged off from Yatri Niwas at Bhagwati Nagar, the base camp of the Amarnath pilgrimage here, by the Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh and Minister of State for Tourism Priya Sethi, along with National Conference provincial president Devender Singh Rana and senior functionaries of the state administration, at 5.15 in the morning.
The base camp reverberated with chants of “Bham Bham Bhole” and “Har Har Mahadev” as pilgrims from different parts of the country converged here for their onward journey to the holy cave shrine of Lord Shiva nestled in the south Kashmir Himalayas.
The pilgrims, after a night halt at base camps in Pahalgam and Baltal, will leave for the centuries-old cave shrine at a height of 12,756 ft. The 40-day-long yatra will conclude on Shravan Purnima (Raksha Bandhan) on August 7.
The yatra can be undertaken both by the traditional 46-km-long trek via Pahalgam in south Kashmir and the shorter route of 14 km from Baltal (near Sonmarg) along the Srinagar-Leh axis.
“In the first batch, as many as 1,582 pilgrims in 47 vehicles proceeded towards the Pahalgam base camp while 698 pilgrims are undertaking the pilgrimage via the Baltal route,” a police official said.
An ecstatic pilgrim from Bhopal said, “It is a great privilege to leave for the yatra in the first batch. This is for the seventh time that I am undertaking this pilgrimage. We are the least concerned about the threat perception to the yatra. I would rather like to convey that the threats from stone-throwers and terrorists encourage us to perform the pilgrimage.”
Pertinently, intelligence inputs have suggested an ‘enhanced terror threat’ to the Amarnath yatra, prompting the security agencies to make the “highest level” of security arrangements.
“We want to convey to the intending pilgrims that J&K guarantees foolproof security arrangements for them. There are some elements which are bent on disturbing the pilgrimage but we are committed to providing a safe and incident-free pilgrimage,” the Deputy Chief Minister said, adding that the government had mobilised over 30,000 troops of the police, Army, BSF and the CRPF.
Inspector General, CRPF, AV Chauhan said: “We are using the latest technology to a keep a tight vigil. We have made adequate arrangements to ensure safety of the pilgrims. We are working in close coordination with the Army, police and other agencies,” he said.
Pilgrims to proceed from Pahalgam today
Srinagar: The first batch of the Amarnath pilgrims in 72 vehicles that left Jammu early today have reached Pahalgam and Baltal base camps for their onward trek to the holy cave shrine via both the axes on Thursday. Kashmir IGP Muneer Ahmad Khan said all measures for the smooth movement of the pilgrims on the highway to the base camps and trekking routes to the holy cave shrine have been put in place. TNS
6
9