First batch leaves for Holy Cave from Baltal, Nunwan Base camps
STATE TIMES NEWS
SRINAGAR: Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha on Saturday said that a big push has been made to improve the facilities for Shri Amarnathji pilgrims and to provide best of comfort to make the spiritual journey a pleasurable experience.
Amarnath Yatra a divine, magnificent manifestation of our heritage: PM
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described the annual Amarnath Yatra, which began on Saturday, as a divine and magnificent manifestation of our heritage.
In a tweet, he wished new enthusiasm and energy to devotees from divine blessings and that the country move ahead quickly in ‘amrit kaal’ to realise its resolve.
Sinha was chairing a review meeting on Control Room operations set up at Raj Bhawan for Shri Amarnathji Yatra.
He reviewed the queue management, deployment of security personnel, women constables, operation of Langars and security forces at lower Holy Cave, installation of railings and heli services with the officers of the control room and appreciated the exemplary work done by the team.
The Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board’s (SASB) control room is working 24×7 and coordinating with various stakeholders on the ground to ensure hassle-free pilgrimage.
Dr Mandeep Kumar Bhandari, CEO, SASB, Rahul Singh, Additional CEO SASB and other senior officers were present during the meeting.
Meanwhile, marking beginning of the annual Yatra, the first batch of pilgrims was flagged off by Secretary Planning Development & Monitoring Department, (Nodal Officer for Yatra via Baltal Axis), Dr Raghav Langer, for revered Amarnath Shrine from Domail, Baltal base camp, Ganderbal.
Deputy Commissioner Ganderbal, Shyambir and SSP Ganderbal Nikhil Borkar, Camp Director Baltal, ADDC Ganderbal besides other officials from district administration, police and other security agencies were present on the occasion
The pilgrims were seen enthusiastically chanting religious hymns while moving forward towards the Holy Cave of Lord Shiva.
Pertinently, all requisite arrangements with regard to basic amenities, healthcare and security arrangements have been put in place at the base camps and enroute the Holy Cave for comfort and convenience of devotees who are thronging the region for their pious pilgrimage.
Similarly, Secretary Revenue, (Nodal Officer for Yatra via Pahalgam Axis), Dr Piyush Singla flagged off first batch of pilgrims from the Nunwan base camp for the Amarnath Shrine.
DIG SKR, Rayees Mohammad Bhat, Deputy Commissioner Anantnag, S F Hamid, SSP Anantnag Ashish Mishra, Camp Director Nunwan, CEO PDA besides other officials from district administration, police and other security agencies were present on the occasion
Adequate facilities have been made to ensure smooth conduct of the 62 day pilgrimage, Singla said, adding, “The endeavour is to make sure that the pilgrims feel secure and visit the shrine peacefully.”
Second batch of over 4,400 pilgrims leaves Jammu for Kashmir
Jammu: A second batch of more than 4,400 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here on Saturday in a secured convoy on a pilgrimage to the 3,888-metre-high Amarnath cave shrine.
The pilgrims left the base camp in the morning in a cavalcade of 188 vehicles. With this, the number of pilgrims who left for the Amarnath cave shrine from the Jammu base camp has reached 7,904, officials said.
They said 2,733 devotees left in 94 vehicles for Pahalgam around 4.50 am, while 1,683 pilgrims left in a fleet of 92 vehicles for the Baltal base camp nearly an hour earlier. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch of pilgrims for the annual Amarnath Yatra from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp on Friday.
The 62-day-long pilgrimage commenced from Kashmir on Saturday on the twin tracks the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in the Anantnag district and the shorter but steep 14-km-long Baltal route in the Ganderbal district.
“We are very happy to start for Amarnath. I have always longed to see the ‘ice lingam’ of Lord Shiva,” 62-year-old Surinder Joshi from Rajasthan told PTI. Joshi is undertaking the pilgrimage along with his wife Kusum.
A multi-tier security setup has been activated in and around the Bhagwati Nagar base camp for the annual pilgrimage.
Thirty-three accommodation centres have been set up across Jammu and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are being issued to the pilgrims.
Five counters have been set up for the registration of pilgrims who intend to undertake the yatra. So far, more than 3.5 lakh people have registered themselves online for the pilgrimage.