STATE TIMES NEWS
Srinagar: Pratham Puja (first prayer), marking the ritual beginning of the annual Amarnath yatra, was held on Tuesday on the occasion of Jyestha Purnima at the holy cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas amidst chanting of Vedic Mantras to invoke the blessings of Lord Shiva, officials said.
The formal yatra will begin on June 30 and culminate on August 11, coinciding with Raksha Bandhan.
“To mark the beginning of annual #AmarnathYatra, Pratham puja was performed on Tuesday on the occasion of Jyestha Purnima at the holy cave shrine of Lord #Shiva,” the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) tweeted.
It said Nitishwar Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of the board, along with other office bearers, participated in the prayers.
More than 10 Lakh pilgrims are expected to pay obeisance at the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, 45 kilometres from tourist resort Pahalgam.
Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board has been organizing Pratham Pooja on the auspicious occasion of Jyeshtha Purnima every year to seek the blessings of Lord Amarnath for the peaceful conduct of the Annual Yatra.
The CEO prayed for the smooth conduct of Yatra 2022 and well-being of the people. The CEO welcomed and encouraged the devotees across the country to take part in the 43 days long Shri Amarnathji Yatra 2022 which is scheduled to commence from 30th June and shall conclude on 11th August.
SASB has made all requisite arrangements for facilitating safe and hassle free yatra. The holding capacity for yatris has been doubled with respect to previous years, the CEO said.
Special arrangements have been made for virtual Puja, Virtual Hawan & Online Prasad Booking for the devotees. The facility may be availed by visiting the link in www.jksasb.nic.in.
The SASB would perform morning and evening Aarti of the Holy Ice Lingam at the Holy Cave Shrine from 30thJune, 2022 to Shravan Purnima falling on 11th August, 2022. The timing of the Aarti would be 6.00 a.m to 6.30 a.m in the morning and 5.00 p.m to 5.30 p.m in the evening. The devotees can have ‘Darshan’ through live telecast of Morning and Evening Arti through Shri Amarnathji Shrine Boards website link: http://www.shriamarnathjishrine.com/AartiLive.html or through Shrine Board’s Android based Application which may be downloaded through the link: http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ncog.shriamarnath
The CEO, was accompanied by Pandurang Pole, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Rahul Singh, Additional Chief Executive Officer, SASB, Anup Kumar Soni, OSD to CEO and other officers of the Shrine Board; Dr. Piyush Singla Deputy Commissioner Anantnag, Shyambir, Deputy Commissioner Ganderbal; Akshay Labroo, Director Information & Public Relations; Nikhil Borkar SSP Ganderbal; Mukesh Khandekar, Sangathan Mantri, North India, VHP; Rajesh Gupta, Working President VHP Jammu Kashmir & Ladakh; Sudershan Khajuria, General Secretary, Pawan Kohli President; and Shakti Dutt Sharma, Vice President of Baba Yatri Niyas.
The yatra was cut short as a precautionary measure in 2019 after the Centre imposed severe restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370. Only ritualistic aspects of the yatra were conducted in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.