New Delhi: The much-awaited Amarnath Yatra began on Wednesday morning amid tight security. The first batch of pilgrims left from Jammu’s Bhagwati Nagar base camp at 4:30 am.
The yatra that began days after BJP pulled out of the ruling alliance with the PDP, resulting in Governor’s rule in Jammu & Kashmir, will have strict rules. No vehicles carrying the pilgrims will be allowed to start from base camps in Pahalgam and Baltal after 2 pm to ensure they reach Jawahar Tunnel, which connects Srinagar to Jammu, latest by 7 pm. The pilgrims will start their onward journey to the 3,880 meter high cave shrine by foot on Thursday, marking the commencement of the pilgrimage.
- All vehicles going up will have RFID tags to help CRPF and J&K police track their movement.
- Special arrangements are made to rule out any diversions from the 75-100 km stretch covering high-risk areas. Security personnel will remain in touch with drivers of all registered vehicles.
- Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) has decided to allow 7,500 pilgrims on each route daily considering the carrying capacity of the existing tracks and other available infrastructure.
- Around 40,000 security personnel from the police, paramilitary forces, National Disaster Response Force and the Army have been deployed to keep a vigil on the yatra this year. Supervision will be done by SP or SSP level officers and aerial surveillance by drones.
- Around 2,11,994 pilgrims have registered by now, said an official spokesperson, which he says is due to reduced helicopter prices.
- This year, per passenger one-way helicopter-fare for Neelgrath- Panjtarni is Rs 1,600 and Rs 2,751 for Pahalgam-Panjtarni.
- The registration for Yatra started on March 1 this year through 440 designated bank branches.
“All arrangements are in place to ensure smooth and peaceful pilgrimage, which is a symbol of brotherhood and communal harmony,” Inspector General of Police, Jannu, S D Singh Jamwal said. The Yatra is scheduled to conclude on August 26 coinciding with the ‘Raksha Bandhan’.
