4,603 reach Kashmir as Amarnath Yatra starts today amid high security

Naseer Ganai & Arjun Sharma

Srinagar/Jammu, June 28

The first batch of 4,603 Amarnath Yatra pilgrims reached Kashmir on Friday afternoon. They will start their journey towards the holy cave in Anantnag on Saturday.

Local residents and administration welcomed the inaugural group of pilgrims as they reached Pantha Chowk in Srinagar. Highlighting the significance of the Amarnath Yatra, Srinagar DC Dr Bilal Mohi-Ud-Din Bhat said: “We welcome all pilgrims with open hearts and are committed to ensuring their safety and comfort.”

Earlier this morning, Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha flagged-off the first batch of devotees from Yatri Niwas in Bhagwati Nagar of Jammu. The pilgrims left for the twin base camps in Kashmir — Baltal and Pahelgam camps — amidst the chanting of Vedic hymns under the supervision of the CRPF.

Notably, the annual pilgrimage is beginning just days after a bus of devotees, who were returning from the Shiv Khori shrine in Reasi, came under attack on June 9. As many as nine pilgrims were killed in the attack. Security forces are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the pilgrimage, which will conclude on August 19, is completed without any terror incident.

A pilgrim, Sunita Rani, who came from Haryana, said she did not expect that the administration would extend such facilities for the pilgrims. “This is the first time that I am taking part in the Amarnath Yatra. I was under the impression that pilgrims have to fend for themselves. But the facilities being provided at the base camp in Jammu are outstanding,” she stated.

Munish Kumar from UP said he came for the pilgrimage after 12 years and found many changes in the way the pilgrims were treated. “From food at the community kitchen to the arrangement at Yatri Niwas, it feels as if I have come to a different J&K,” Kumar added.

Locals and officials from the Udhampur administration, including DC Saloni Rai, also greeted the devotees at Kali Mata Temple in Tikri area.