Amarnath Yatra begins, amid tight security

The month-and-a-half annual yatra to the Himalayan cave shrine of Amarnath took off on Wednesday morning as the first batch of pilgrims left for the shrine from the two base camps: north Kashmir Baltal and south Kashmir Pahalgam amid tight security.

The yatris had reached the two base camps on Tuesday evening from Jammu, where they were seen off by State Tourism minister, Rigzin Jora.

A senior state government officer said that around 5,458 yatris left for the cave shrine from Pahalgam base camp while 13,985 left from the Baltel base camp on Wednesday morning.

This year's yatra got delayed by nearly a fortnight as the north and south Kashmir tracks were snowbound, and it took many days for the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board which manages the yatra, to clear them.

Nearly three lakh pilgrims have registered themselves at various registration counters across the country this year for the yatra so far.

Last year, despite the deadly summer unrest that claimed 112 lives, over five lakh pilgrims had darshan at the cave situated at 14,000 ft above sea level.

Authorities have made adequate security arrangements for this year's yatra which were reviewed by the Union Home minister P Chidambaram in Srinagar last week.

Army, paramilitary and police troops have been deployed along the two routes and at the cave shrine for the pilgrim security.

Teams of 20 members of two Mobile Rescue Teams of state armed police, each comprising 10 experienced and well-trained mountaineers, have been stationed at Sheshnag and Poshpathri to facilitate the movement of yatris along critical and vulnerable stretches.

These MRT personnel would be equipped with wireless sets and the required mountaineering equipment.These teams would fix ropes along the critical stretches of the track between Sheshnag and Poshpathri for ensuring the safety of the yatris.

The pilgrims take the north and south Kashmir routes to reach the cave shrine.

The North Kashmir Baltel route is gaining popularity with the pilgrims for its shorter duration of only one day, as against south Kashmir track which involves three night halts at Chandanwari, Sheshnag and Panchtarni.

Helicopters service has also been made available from Baltel route for the pilgrims.

Image: Pilgrims trek through the mountains

Photograph: Fayaz Kabli/Reuters