First batch of 4,500 Amarnath yatris begins journey

Lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday flagged off the first batch of 4,500 pilgrims for the Amarnath yatra starting July 3 hoping that this would be a historic yatra undeterred by the violence. Sinha said this is a journey of faith and self-discovery and hoped it would be a deeply soul-stirring experience for the pilgrims.

"Undeterred by terror incidents, devotees of Bhole Baba are arriving in huge numbers, demonstrating immense faith. I hope that this year's yatra will be even more historic than previous years," said Sinha at Bhagwati Nagar Base Camp, in Jammu.

"More than 4,500 devotees set off to the holy Cave Shrine in the first batch for the darshan of Baba Barfani on Tuesday. Jammu city has come alive with a new vibrancy. The enthusiasm of pilgrims is very high," Sinha said.


Eminent spiritual leaders, heads of religious organisations, public representatives, senior officers of the civil administration, police, security forces and Shrine Board representatives and prominent citizens, and devotees were present at the ceremony.

In Srinagar, the district administration welcomed the first batch of pilgrims at Pantha Chowk. The administration has reiterated its commitment to ensuring a smooth and secure yatra experience for all devotees.

"Amarnathji yatra is a significant spiritual journey and we are committed to ensuring the smooth conduct of the pilgrimage with safety and comfort of all pilgrims," said Akshay Labroo, deputy commissioner of Srinagar, who welcomed the pilgrims along with other officials and some locals.

Earlier this week, the LG had reviewed the final preparations for the yatra directing officials to ensure that the traffic advisor is widely publicised so that locals are not inconvenienced. The administration has made elaborate security arrangements on both Pahalgam axis in Anantnag of southern Kashmir and Baltal axis in Ganderbal of central Kashmir.