Stage is set for start of annual pilgrimage to holy cave shrine of Baba Amarnath Ji from July 1 with both tracks, Baltal and Pahalgam, almost cleared of snowfall by Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) and Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA) and all security arrangements being in place with complete induction of troops on the two tracks as well as the holy cave shrine.
Registration of pilgrims was going unabated for the Amarnath Yatra. The registration was opened through 121 designated branches of Jammu and Kashmir Bank and on-line. Process of registration will continue till August 23, a day before culmination of the yatra.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) SASB and Principal Secretary to Governor R K Goyal told the Excelsior after several round of visits to Baltal and Pahalgam tracks and holy cave shrine that preparation for start of the yatra were in full swing.
Thirteen km Baltal track has nearly been cleared of snowfall while PDA was working on 55 kms Pahalgam- cave track and it was almost ready for the yatra. Construction of pre-fabricated structures including accommodation and toilets etc was going on both tracks. Entire infrastructure will be ready before start of the yatra, he said.
Mr Goyal said induction of security forces along both the tracks and cave shrine has been completed more than a week in advance of the yatra. Army and para-military forces have been deployed around the holy cave shrine of Amarnath ji and the mountains surrounding it as a part of intensified security measures.
While troops will man mountains around the cave and the two tracks, the BSF, CRPF and police personnel have been deployed for protection of pilgrims on Baltal and Pahalgam routes, the base camps, two national highways (Jammu-Pathankot and Jammu-Srinagar) and roads leading to forward base camps of Nunwan in Pahalgam and Baltal, official sources said.
“Induction of security forces has been completed in advance to ensure that the militants didn’t manage to intrude into the forward base camps, two tracks and the cave shrine. Security arrangements for the pilgrims for this year’s annual pilgrimage were almost the same like the previous year’’, they said.
Mr Goyal said the langar people have also started installation of their infrastructure at the sites assigned to them at Baltal, Nunwan, holy cave shrine and enroute the two tracks. While some of the langar people have set up their units, others were expected to do so in next four or five days before beginning of the yatra, he added.
After clearance of snow, repair work on the two tracks had started. The tracks will be ready before the yatra starts on July 1.
It may be mentioned here that first batch of pilgrims will leave Yatri Niwas, Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu on June 30. First batch of yatris will leave forward base camps of Nunwan and Baltal on July 1. The yatris leaving Baltal on July 1 will have darshan of holy Ice Lingam of Lord Shiva the same day while pilgrims taking 34 kms track from Chandanwari will perform darshan at holy cave shrine the next day.
The annual pilgrimage this year will last 55 days. Beginning July 1, it will culminate on August 24 on the occasion of Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan.
In Jammu, tight security arrangements have been made for the pilgrims at Yatri Niwas, Bhagwati Nagar base camp on the banks of river Tawi. Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, Manoj Kumar Dwivedi and SSP Jammu Basant Rath have been monitoring facilities and security arrangements for the yatris.
Sadhus for whom a separate camp has been set up at Muni Baba temple along Circular road by the administration have already started reaching Jammu ahead of the yatra.