Amarnath Yatra

The Amarnath Yatra is a once-in-a-year, for all devotees of Lord Shiva to the most sacred shrine of their beloved Hindu gods. This year the journey is a 62-day-long pilgrimage, that started on 1st July and is expected to end on the 31st of August.

After two years of suspension due to covid-19, since last year the number of pilgrims taking the journey has increased exponentially. The stats show that over 300,000 registrations have been made this year from all over the country.

There are two trails from which people are starting their arduous journey, Baltal & Pahalgam. Local Kashmiris have set up tents, availed palanquins and pony rides for the comfort and ease of the devotees, bringing forth warmth and harmony for the ones taking this onerous journey.

The first batch of 3,400 Devotees was flagged off by J&K administrators at the Baltal, Jammu base camp, on the 30th of June. As of 5th July, 67,197 pilgrims have had ‘darshan’ Sadly, three deaths have been reported so far, but for the most part, authorities have said that the ‘yatra’ has been going without any hiccups.

Every Pilgrim has been issued RFID cards so their real-time location can be tracked to ensure safety and security. The J&K administration has stated their main concern is the health and safety of the pilgrims. For that, there have been healthcare and essential camps have been set up, that were thoroughly inspected and reviewed by the Dg CRPF. The base camps have also been set up in such a way that they’re secure and any mishaps can be avoided like last year, as allocated by the National Disaster Response Force.

As of today, a group of 33 devotees from Nepal have also reached Lakhanpur, to join the pilgrimage to the Amarnath caves. The government’s command and control center is monitoring the live locations of all the devotees. Yesterday, 6,500 more pilgrims left the base camp of Jammu.

UPDATE:
The Yatra has been suspended on both Pahalgam and Baltal routes as of 7th July '23, due to bad weather and heavy rainfall.