Batch of 6113 pilgrims leaves Jmu base camp for Amarnath Cave

Jammu:
Amid tight security arrangements, the fourth batch of 6,113 pilgrims, including 1,292 women, left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here on Saturday to pay obeisance at the 3,880-metre-high holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said.
The pilgrims, also comprising 195 Sadhus and 25 children, will be reaching the twin base camps of Pahalgam in Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district later in the day.
Over 20,000 pilgrims have offered their prayers at the cave shrine, housing the naturally formed ice-shivlingam, since the commencement of the 43-day yatra on June 30 from the twin routes – the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag and the 14-km shorter Baltal in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal.
Of the latest batch that left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp, the officials said 4,173 pilgrims left in a convoy of 148 vehicles for the Pahalgam base camp, while another 1,940 pilgrims preferred the Baltal route and departed in a fleet of 80 vehicles.
With this, 23,214 yatris have left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp for the Valley since June 29, the day the first batch of pilgrims was flagged off by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha.
The yatra is scheduled to end on August 11 on the occasion of ‘Shravan Purnima’ coinciding with Raksha Bandhan.
Meanwhile in order to provide an opportunity for millions of devotees of Baba Amarnath Ji across the globe who could not come for the Yatra this year, the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board is extending the online facility for performing virtual pooja, hawan and prasad booking for the devotees, officials said.
The devotees can book their pooja, hawan, and prasad online, and priests at the holy cave will offer it in the devotee’s name, besides the prasad will be subsequently delivered at doorsteps of the devotees.
Chief Executive Officer, SASB, Nitishwar Kumar noted that the online services can be booked through Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board’s website www.shriamarnathjishrine.com by clicking Book Online Pooja/ Hawan/Prasad link & through the Board’s Mobile application (which may be downloaded through the link https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ncog.shriamarnath , by paying Rs 1100/- for virtual Pooja, Rs. 1100/- for Prasad booking (with 5 gm silver coin of Shri Amarnathji), Rs. 2100/- for Prasad booking (with 10 gm silver coin of Shri Amarnathji ) Rs. 5100/- for the special hawan or combination of any of the above.
The Virtual Pooja or Hawan would be carried out by the Pujaris at the Cave shrine by pronouncing the Name and Gotra of the devotee along with chanting of Mantras and Shlokas. ‘Maximizing the use of available technology and digitization, the devotees would be let in a virtual online room through Jio meet application wherein they can have a special virtual Pooja and Darshan of Lord Shiva,’ he added.
We have made an arrangement with the Postal Department for dispatching Prasad within 48 hours, CEO, SASB observed. Once the booking is done, the Shrine Board would share the link and date/time on the registered mobile number/ e-mail id of the devotee, he said. The portal has been developed by Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board with the help of National Informatics Centre, J&K.