Srinagar/Jammu, June 29: The annual Amarnath Yatra commenced on Saturday as the first batch of pilgrims departed from the twin base camps at Baltal and Nunwan, embarking on their journey to the 3,880-meter-high cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas.
Pilgrims set out early in the morning from the traditional 48-kilometer Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag and the shorter, but steeper, 14-kilometer Baltal route in Ganderbal. Officials reported that the respective deputy commissioners, along with senior police and civil administration officials, flagged off the pilgrims on both routes.
On Friday, Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch of 4,603 pilgrims from the Yatri Niwas base camp in Bhagwati Nagar, Jammu. The pilgrims arrived in the Kashmir Valley in the afternoon, receiving a warm welcome from the administration and locals. They are set to pay obeisance at the cave shrine, which houses the naturally occurring ice-lingam formation.
Stringent security measures have been implemented to ensure the smooth conduct of the yatra. Thousands of security personnel from the police, Central Reserve Police Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, and other paramilitary forces have been deployed, with aerial surveillance also planned.
The 52-day pilgrimage will conclude on August 19.
Meanwhile, the second batch of 1,881 pilgrims departed from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp on Saturday under tight security. This group included 427 women and 294 seers, and they left in 200 vehicles organized into two separate convoys escorted by security forces. The first convoy, carrying 1,069 devotees to Baltal, departed at 4 a.m., while the second convoy, with 812 pilgrims heading to Pahalgam, set off 30 minutes later.
Last year, more than 4.5 lakh pilgrims paid their obeisance at the cave shrine.
