Inaugurates Yatri Niwas at Baltal; 3rd batch of over 6,400 pilgrims leaves from Jammu base camp
Srinagar: Over 20,000 pilgrims have had darshan of the naturally formed ice ‘Shivling’ in the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in the south Kashmir Himalayas during the first two days of the pilgrimage, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said on Friday.
The LG said there is an atmosphere of celebration and enthusiasm across the entire Union Territory for the annual Amarnath Yatra.
“Till now, according to the information, over 20,000 devotees of Baba have had darshan,” Sinha told reporters after inaugurating the Yatri Niwas Complex at the Baltal base camp in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.
Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, joined the event virtually.
“Baba’s devotees are coming here from various corners of the country, and the people of J-K are welcoming them with open hearts. The J-K government and the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) have improved the facilities for the yatris,” Sinha said.
According to officials, over 26,000 pilgrims visited the cave shrine in the first two days of the yatra.
As many as 14,515 pilgrims had darshan on Friday, they said.
The officials added that the pilgrims included 11,440 men, 2,426 women, 91 children, 179 sadhus, 42 sadhvis, nine transgenders, and 328 members of the security forces. So far, a total of 26,863 pilgrims have visited the cave shrine, they said.
Sinha noted that pilgrims arriving earlier than their stipulated date would be accommodated, but advised them to wait, as priority would be given to devotees with prior registration.
The Yatri Niwas, developed by ONGC under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, will accommodate 800 pilgrims and also includes a registration and security block.
“Providing safe and adequate accommodation for all devotees is our top priority,” the LG said.
Sinha thanked ONGC for taking up the work of establishing Yatri Niwas facilities at Sidhra (Jammu), Baltal, Nunwan, and Bijbehara at a cost of Rs 240 crore under CSR.
“Safe and adequate accommodation for all devotees is our top priority. We are creating better facilities for the pilgrims, while securing the livelihood of local people and service providers. At present, the work on Yatri Niwas at Sidhra, Nunwan Phase-I, and Bijbehara is ongoing. The Yatri Niwas at Nunwan is expected to be completed before the month of October this year,” he said.
Widening of tracks and installation of safety railings have ensured safe and hassle-free movement of pilgrims. The tracks are illuminated by grid power, which has provided great relief to the pilgrims and enabled 24×7 monitoring.
“Grid power connectivity from Panchtarni to Chandanwari will be ensured by next year,” the LG added.
Earlier, third batch of over 6,400 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu in two separate convoys on Friday to join the annual Amarnath pilgrimage in the Kashmir Himalayas, officials said.
About 14,000 pilgrims have prayed at the 3,880 metre-high cave shrine since Thursday when the 38-day annual yatra commenced from Pahalgam in Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district – the two conventional tracks –, officials said.
The third batch of 6,411 pilgrims — 4,723 men, 1,071 women, 37 children, and 580 sadhus and sadhvis — left in 291 vehicles, they said.
The batch left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in two groups for Baltal and Pahalgam at 3.15 am and 4 am, escorted by CRPF.
While 3,622 pilgrims took the 48-kilometre traditional Pahalgam route in 138 vehicles, 2,789 pilgrims, ferried in 153 vehicles, took the shorter but steeper 14-kilometre Baltal route.
With the fresh departure, a total of 17,549 pilgrims have left the Jammu base camp for the Valley since Wednesday, when Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the yatra from here.
The yatra goes on as usual, albeit in tighter security, despite the April 22 Pahalgam attack in which 26 men were gunned down.
The Bhagwati Nagar base camp has been put under a multi-tier security cover.
More than 3.5 lakh people have registered online for the pilgrimage so far.
Thirty-four accommodation centres have been set up across Jammu, and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are being issued to the pilgrims. Twelve counters have been set up for an on-the-spot registration of pilgrims.
