After a two-year suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a record eight lakh pilgrims are expected to undertake annual pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnathji in south Kashmir Himalayas this year.
“This year Amarnath Yatra will be one of the biggest in the history of Jammu and Kashmir as around six to eight lakh pilgrims are expected to undertake the pilgrimage,” Union Secretary of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Apurva Chand, said while addressing a presser, here.
He said after holding a detailed meeting with J&K Chief Secretary and other senior officials, he was informed that this year’s Amarnath pilgrimage will be one of the biggest in the history of J&K for which all the necessary arrangements have been put in place.
The annual yatra was canceled in 2020 as well as 2021 due to Covid-19 pandemic and only symbolic ‘Chhari Mubarak’ was taken to the cave shrine by the Mahant Deependera Giri Ji and Sadhus. In 2019 it was cut short following intelligence inputs of terror threats ahead of the Centre scrapping Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Foolproof security arrangements have also been put in place and all the security agencies are involved in making the pilgrimage safe. Security in J&K has already improved as you can see how many tourists are visiting the place,” Chand said.
He said that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has urged the J&K administration to prepare a short documentary on Amarnath Yatra and also tourist places of Kashmir. “We will widely circulate that documentary across the country and outside,” he added.
The yatra to the 3,880-metre-high holy cave shrine takes place from the twin routes of Pahalgam in south Kashmir and Baltal in Ganderbal district of central Kashmir. This year it will start on June 30 and culminate on the day of Raksha Bandhan on August 11. The registration for the yatra began today.
Every year lakhs of pilgrims either take the traditional and longer 45km-long Pahalgam route or the shorter 14km-long Baltal route to Amarnath, one of Hinduism’s holiest shrines.
It may be recalled that since the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) took the control of the yatra in 2001 the number of pilgrims who visited the holy cave were 1.91 lakh during that year, followed by 1.10 lakh in 2002, 1.70 lakh in 2003, four lakh in 2004, 3.88 lakh in 2005, 3.47 lakh in 2006, 2.96 lakh in 2007, 5.33 lakh in 2008, 3.81 lakh in 2009, 4.55 lakh in 2010, 6.21 in 2011, 6.35 in 2012 and 3.54 in 2013, 3.72 lakh in 2014, 3.52 in 2015, 2.21 in 2016, 2.60 in 2017 and 2.85 in 2018.
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