Jammu and Kashmir starts preparations for curtailed Amarnath Yatra

With annual Amarnath Yatra likely to be held for 15 days only this year due to COVID-19 pandemic, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has started preparations for the curtailed pilgrimage scheduled to begin in the last week of July.

Also read — COVID-19: Amarnath Yatra curtailed to 15 days; likely to start from July 21

A senior official of the J&K government said preparatory work like snow clearance of the track from Baltal up to the cave shrine will be taken up in the coming days. Deputy Commissioner, Ganderbal, has also issued orders for forming committees to fix the rates for service providers during the pilgrimage, including labourers and other facilitators, they said.

Nodal officers of various departments for the Yatra have also been nominated after Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, visited Baltal base camp and took stock of the situation on Sunday, sources said. Earlier, the ‘Pratham Puja’ for the yatra was held on Friday in Jammu.

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The 42-day-long annual pilgrimage to the 3,880 metre-high holy cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas was scheduled to begin from June 23 from traditional Pahalgam -Chandanwari track and shorter Sonamarag-Baltal route.

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the decision to cut short the time period of the pilgrimage was taken during a meeting held by Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor G C Murmu, recently. However, sources said that the decision about final dates is yet to be taken. The final decision has to be taken by the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB).

Every year lakhs of pilgrims either take the traditional and longer 45 km-long Pahalgam route or the shorter 14 km-long Baltal route to Amarnath, one of Hinduism’s holiest shrines. The pilgrimage usually spans nearly a month-and-a-half and takes place during July and August.

Last year, the yatra was cut short following intelligence inputs of terror threats ahead of the Centre scrapping Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. In 2018, the pilgrimage was held for 60 days.