<p> On the inaugural day of the annual Amarnath yatra, a total of 12,717 pilgrims secured registration. Despite reports of death and gore from Uttarakhand, after flash floods and landslides, the much-awaited Yatra kicked off on Thursday with the first batch of pilgrims leaving for Jammu to the holy cave in south Kashmir Himalayas.<br /><br /></p>.<p>An official handout said out of them, 6,567 pilgrims have registered to travel by the Baltal route in north Kashmir and rest 6,150 by the south Kashmir’s Pahalgam route. Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), which oversees the arrangements for the yatra, has fixed a ceiling of 7,500 pilgrims per day per route. This excludes pilgrims who travel by the Heli services upto Panjtarni, 6 kms short of the cave shrine, whose number may normally vary from 1,000-1,400. <br /><br />Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra who is also the chairman of the SASB directed the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Board to obtain final reports from all camp directors to reconfirm that the arrangements put in place are strictly as per the decisions taken earlier. The governor had discussed Yatra 2013 related issues with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the wake of the Uttarakhand tragedy to reiterate the importance of the district administration strictly ensuring against any unregistered pilgrim being allowed to undertake the Yatra. <br /><br />The governor also directed the CEO to immediately speak to the deputy commissioners and senior superintendents of Police of Ganderbal and Anantnag districts to personally overview the management of the Access Control Gates at Domel and Chandanwari and ensure that only those Yatris who possess valid registration permits were allowed to embark on the Yatra. <br />Additional CEO, SASB, P P Singh stated that those pilgrims who have arrived in Jammu without having obtaining valid registration should secure registration from Vaishnavi Dham, Saraswati Dham and Jammu Haat before proceeding towards the Valley. “Registration facility is also available at Tourist Reception Centre (TRC), Srinagar for those Yatris who have already reached Srinagar without having obtained valid registration,” he said.</p>
<p> On the inaugural day of the annual Amarnath yatra, a total of 12,717 pilgrims secured registration. Despite reports of death and gore from Uttarakhand, after flash floods and landslides, the much-awaited Yatra kicked off on Thursday with the first batch of pilgrims leaving for Jammu to the holy cave in south Kashmir Himalayas.<br /><br /></p>.<p>An official handout said out of them, 6,567 pilgrims have registered to travel by the Baltal route in north Kashmir and rest 6,150 by the south Kashmir’s Pahalgam route. Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), which oversees the arrangements for the yatra, has fixed a ceiling of 7,500 pilgrims per day per route. This excludes pilgrims who travel by the Heli services upto Panjtarni, 6 kms short of the cave shrine, whose number may normally vary from 1,000-1,400. <br /><br />Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra who is also the chairman of the SASB directed the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Board to obtain final reports from all camp directors to reconfirm that the arrangements put in place are strictly as per the decisions taken earlier. The governor had discussed Yatra 2013 related issues with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the wake of the Uttarakhand tragedy to reiterate the importance of the district administration strictly ensuring against any unregistered pilgrim being allowed to undertake the Yatra. <br /><br />The governor also directed the CEO to immediately speak to the deputy commissioners and senior superintendents of Police of Ganderbal and Anantnag districts to personally overview the management of the Access Control Gates at Domel and Chandanwari and ensure that only those Yatris who possess valid registration permits were allowed to embark on the Yatra. <br />Additional CEO, SASB, P P Singh stated that those pilgrims who have arrived in Jammu without having obtaining valid registration should secure registration from Vaishnavi Dham, Saraswati Dham and Jammu Haat before proceeding towards the Valley. “Registration facility is also available at Tourist Reception Centre (TRC), Srinagar for those Yatris who have already reached Srinagar without having obtained valid registration,” he said.</p>
