JAMMU: The annual Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra for this year has set a new historic record, with the total number of pilgrims crossing the three-lakh mark in the first 12 days on Tuesday. The 57-day official yatra will culminate on August 28, Shraavan Purnima (Raksha Bandhan). By that day, many more pilgrims are likely to visit, and this year may record extraordinary numbers, never before seen, not even before the days of the outbreak of terrorism in early 1990.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha commended all the officials, service providers and volunteers for their valuable contribution to the holy pilgrimage of Shri Amarnathji. In a post on X, the Lieutenant Governor said: “Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra has set a historic new record, crossing the three lakh mark in just 12 days. I commend all the officials, service providers and volunteers. Their dedication and hard work have made this holy pilgrimage smooth and memorable for every devotee of Baba Barfani. Har Har Mahadev!”
On the 12th day of darshan on Tuesday, over 26,000 pilgrims from across the country paid obeisance at cave shrine of Baba Barfani in the south Kashmir district of Anantnag. Officials said 26,308 pilgrims drawn from different parts of the country paid obeisance at holy cave situated at an altitude of 3,888 metres by Tuesday evening from twin tracks of Baltal and Pahalgam.
With this, a total number of 3,01,926 pilgrims visited the holy cave since the 57-day long yatra started on July 3. The pilgrims who performed darshan at cave shrine have started their return journey towards their respective base camps. Some of them choose to spend a couple of days visiting Sonamarg, Kheer Bhawani temple, Shankarcharya temple in Srinagar and select other places.
Officially, however, the pilgrims are advised to have darshan at the holy cave and travel to Jammu base camp at Bhagwati Nagar under escort provided by the security forces. Most of the pilgrims have returned to their home states after having darshan while others are on the way. The pilgrimage to Shri Amarnath is conducted under tight security with administration in both Jammu and Srinagar cities involved in the process.
Every day, the pilgrims start their journeys for Pahalgam and Baltal routes in different vehicles early in the morning around 3 am, or so. The convoys of pilgrims are provided escort by security forces, and they are allowed to stop at designated spots where langars have been set up. After having the darshan too, the pilgrims are expected to travel under heavy protection provided by the security forces in convoys.
The police issue a traffic advisory on a daily basis, and one common strand is the stoppage of normal traffic for some hours when up and down convoys of Shri Amarnath pilgrims are on the national highway.
Officials said the weather in entire cave shrine area has remained dry most of these yatra days with no disruptions due to heavy rains. Incidentally, it is a common practice to stop pilgrimage both on Pahalgam and Baltal routes for hours, and sometimes days altogether during heavy rains. The main reason is the slippery conditions that develop on both the tracks.
Most pilgrims from Delhi, Haryana, UP and some from far off places like West Bengal have been praising the arrangements made by the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) and various organisations who have set up free langars. These langars provide choicest of dishes, tea and snacks to the yatris coming to Shri Amarnath cave from all over the country.
The SASB, headed by LG Manoj Sinha, and the Union Territory (UT) administration, have made elaborate arrangements for the pilgrims. Over the past few years, the arrangements, particularly the widening of tracks, and better regulation of the pilgrims, have been improved significantly. The construction of holding areas for the pilgrims at different places along the route, besides tented accommodations at some places, has helped the pilgrimage being undertaken in a more relaxed manner nowadays.
The Baltal convoy departs from Jammu base camp around 3 am on daily basis and the Pahalgam convoy around an hour later. All along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, security forces have been deployed in strength to ward off any potential mischief mongers.
By Wednesday morning, almost 1,00,000 people have left the Jammu base camp since the first batch was flagged from here by Sinha on July 2. That clearly means that the other 2,00,000 pilgrims that had darshan till Tuesday evening bypassed checking in at the Bhagwati Nagar base camp.
Security has been intensified along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, particularly in the Chanderkote, Ramban and Banihal sectors, to ensure the safe and smooth passage of the yatra convoys, according to officials. Due to the yatra being conducted under the watchful eyes of security forces, long lines of trucks form on the highway for hours together as the yatra convoys are prioritised.
Meanwhile, in view of slight decline in rush of yatris, the Registration Counter at Mahajan Hall near Parade Ground in Jammu has been closed. The registration at Tawi riverfront centre, besides at Geeta Bhawan and Ram Mandir, Purani Mandi, is continuing smoothly. This Ram Mandir usually hosts hundreds of sadhus and sadhvis that undertake the pilgrimage.
To ensure smooth and safe yatra, the pilgrims reaching Lakhanpur in Kathua from other parts of country during night hours are not allowed to proceed towards Jammu. Instead, they are accommodated at the local camp there and allowed to proceed to Jammu to join the convoy in the morning.
At Lakhanpur, across the Ravi River, considered the entry point of J&K, over 2,000 pilgrims can be accommodated. Free langars are available at all holding areas for the pilgrims.
