Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first convoy of pilgrims to Shri Amarnath holy cave on the morning of July 2 from the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu amid unprecedented security arrangements. Sinha offered special prayers at the base camp before inaugurating the pilgrimage.
He was joined by Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat, Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma, BJP MP Jugal Kishore Sharma, senior civil and police officials, legislators and representatives of religious organisations. BJP legislators Devyani Rana and Arvind Gupta were among those who attended the ceremonial flagging off.
The first convoy, comprising around 5,000 pilgrims travelling in escorted vehicles, left for the twin base camps of Nunwan in Pahalgam and Baltal under a multi-tier security cover. Devotees chanted religious slogans as the convoy departed from Jammu. Jaikara of Bam Bam Bhole and Jai Baba Barfani rent the air as the pilgrims sitting in the vehicles shouted with full throated voice.
The 57-day pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high Amarnath cave shrine will formally begin on Friday, July 3, through the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the shorter but steeper 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district. The yatra is scheduled to conclude on August 28, which is the Raksha Bandhan day.
Authorities have put in place elaborate security arrangements across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. These include multi-layer deployment of security personnel, technology-driven surveillance, area domination exercises and strict traffic management measures along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway to ensure the safe movement of pilgrims. In Anantnag district, the police have erected several machans (high observation posts) to keep a watch on the movement of people. These machans will have armed guards to detect any suspicious movements.
With this flagging off of convoy, the annual Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra-2026 has commenced for the twin base camps of Baltal and Pahalgam. As per the details shared by the Zonal Police Control Room, Jammu, a total of 4,822 pilgrims are part of the first convoy, including 2,312 pilgrims travelling through the Baltal axis and 2,510 through the Pahalgam axis. The convoy comprises 259 vehicles, including buses, MMVs, LMVs and two-wheelers.
The Baltal axis convoy departed at 6:10 AM, while the Pahalgam axis convoy started at 6:35 AM. The pilgrims include men, women, children, sadhus and sadhvis. The security arrangements for the pilgrimage have been strengthened with police and security forces deployed along the routes. The administration has made elaborate arrangements for smooth movement, accommodation, medical facilities and other essential services for the devotees.
A couple of days ago, a complete mock dry run of the convoy was run from Jammu to Banihal. The seriousness with which the administration has been taking the security and other arrangements for the pilgrims can be gauged from the fact that Divisional Commissioner of Jammu and IGP B S Tuti accompanied the convoy. Senior officers of all districts falling en-route were also present during the trial run.
Sinha is based most of the time these days in Srinagar but arrived in Jammu on July 1 to gain first-hand information and review the security arrangements. He also participated in a Tawi Aarti organised on the eastern bank of the river which bisects the Jammu city into two parts.
Earlier on Wednesday, spot registration for those who want to undertake the pilgrimage but have not registered online also started at some designated spots in the Jammu city. A couple of days ago, langars for devotees at the Bhagwati Nagar base camp and along the route to Kashmir valley also started functioning.
