Over 65,000 pilgrims register for Amarnath Yatra

Jammu: Over 65,000 pilgrims have secured advance registration for this year's Amarnath Yatra in south Kashmir Himalayas beginning from June 29, officials said on Friday.

The registration for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage began on April 15 with a large number of people turning up at designated bank branches here to secure a permit.

"Over 65,000 pilgrims have been registered at different branches of Punjab National Bank (PNB) across the country till this evening," a PNB officer told PTI.

Of these, 70 per cent are male and 30 per cent females, he said.

The advance registration is going at 540 branches across the country since April 15, the bank official said.

It is Aadhaar authentication-based form generation for pilgrims rather than the manual procedure followed in 2022, the official said, adding that forms will be system-generated now.

The 52-day pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in south Kashmir is scheduled to start on June 29 and conclude on August 19, according to the announcement made by the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB).

The journey can be undertaken through two routes -- the traditional 48-km route through Pahalgam in south Kashmir's Anantnag and the 14-km shorter but steep Baltal route in Ganderbal district of central Kashmir.