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| 'Pahalgam route still snow bound, yatris taking up pilgrimage through Baltal only | | Yatra begins amid tight security, pilgrim dies | | Javaid Naikoo
SRINAGAR, June 28: The annual Amarnath started in Kashmir formally today with Governor NN Vohra visited the cave early this morning to get updates and take stock of the current situation. During his visit Governor who is chairman of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) also directed authorities to allow pilgrims to move towards holy cave from Baltal base camp of central Kashmir as second Pahalgam route still is snow bound and clearance work is on.
According to the details received, the first batch of pilgrims, consisting of 1,160 people who had left Jammu on Friday for the Yatra reached Srinagar late evening on Friday which according to official figures include a total of 42 vehicles, including 23 buses and 19 light motor vehicles, carrying 1,160 pilgrims and amid tight security along the road reached here safely. Meantime, second batch of 742 pilgrims also has left Jammu for the Kashmir in a convoy of 34 vehicles today morning.
Pertinently due to heavy snow along the traditional Pahalgam route through Kashmir's Anantnag district, it was for the first time in previous years that the yatra was started today only via the Baltal in Ganderbal district commonly known as Baltal route.
According to reports, the decision to start the yatra thorugh the traditional Pahalgam route would be taken by the SASB officials on July 1 in a meeting of which Governor NN Vohra is the chairman.
According to reports this year 1,93,000 pilgrims have registered with the SASB for Yatra from across different parts of the world for the nearly one and a half month long yatra that will end on Aug 10 coinciding with the Shravan Purnima festival of Hindus religion.
"Due to threat of militant attacks on Yatris, a three-tier security arrangement which include local police, paramilitary central reserve police forces and the Army has been put in place to avoid any such trouble and make the yatra period smooth under fool proof security, sources said.
The details also reveal that a transit camp has been set up at Manigam in Ganderbal District to regulate the passage of the pilgrims towards Baltal base camp on the Srinagar-Leh national highway following reports of problems occurred to yatris last year.
According to reports CEO, SASB has appealed the intending Amarnath yatris to embark on the pilgrimage only after getting medically checked and obtaining a valid yatra permit certificate which as per official reports is considered to ensure against any avoidable inconvenience to yatris.
The CEO has also said that the SASB has also issued a detailed Advisory of Do's and Don'ts for the yatris visiting the shrine and has further added that yatris need to strictly adhere to the same rules and regulations.
Meanwhile, a pilgrim from Maharashtra died on his way to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, as the annual yatra commenced from the shorter route in Ganderbal district today.
A senior police official on yatra duty told that a 31-year-old man identified as Sunil Dharmani died due to cardiac arrest on the way to holy cave today afternoon. |
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