42-day long Amarnath yatra to begin from June 23

The 42-day long annual pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnathji yatra in south Kashmir Himalayas will begin on June 23.

Last year, the duration of the yatra was 40 days while in 2018 the pilgrimage had duration of 60 days. Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB), which manages the affairs of the pilgrimage, has decided that 42-day yatra would commence on June 23, an auspicious day of Jagan Nath Rath Yatra as per Hindu calendar, and concludes on Shravan Purnima (Raksha Bandhan) on August 3.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), SASB, Bipul Pathak based on the approach set out by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Committee, said that registration of pilgrims will be done through 442 designated branches of Punjab National Bank, Jammu and Kashmir Bank and YES Bank, located in 32 States and UTs. The registration for the yatra will begin from April 1.

Considering the success of Pilot Project of online registration of limited number of intending Yatris in 2019, the Board decided to increase the quota of online registration.

The Board directed the CEO to take timely steps for ensuring uninterrupted telecom connectivity in the Yatra area. The Board directed the CEO to caution all potential pilgrims to particularly take into account the difficult climate and terrain in the high altitude region of the Yatra and prepare themselves fully before embarking on the pilgrimage.

The Board also requested the intending pilgrims to make themselves physically fit for the arduous Yatra by taking regular walk and exercise. As in the past, the awareness campaign would be launched with the cooperation and support of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and all information relating to Yatra will be placed on the Board’s Website