Srinagar: The first batch of Amarnath pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu on Thursday, setting in motion the annual pilgrimage that officially begins on Friday from the twin routes of Pahalgam and Baltal in Kashmir amid an unprecedented security and disaster response apparatus.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the convoy early Thursday morning. The pilgrims will stop at transit camps before starting the journey to the 3,880-metre cave shrine in the southern Himalayas of Kashmir on Friday.
With nearly four lakh devotees already registered – higher than last year’s corresponding figure – the administration expects this year’s 57-day pilgrimage to witness a record turnout.
Unlike in previous years, authorities have made weather preparedness almost as central as safety. The India Meteorological Department will issue forecasts every three hours, with updates displayed at the Baltal and Nunwan base camps.
Rain shelters have been erected along both the roads while mountain rescue teams of SDRF, NDRF and CRPF equipped with oxygen cylinders, stretchers and emergency equipment have been deployed in the vulnerable areas.
Security agencies have laid a multi-layered cordon around the pilgrimage after weeks of mock anti-terror drills across Jammu and Kashmir.
The convoy will move through a dedicated security corridor on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, while surveillance has been increased at the transit camps.
The authorities have also activated a 24×7 Command and Control Center in Srinagar to monitor the Yatra in real time. RFID based tracking has been introduced at Srinagar airport, Nowgam railway station and Baltal, Nunwan and Pantha Chowk camps to facilitate movement of pilgrims.
First, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has centralized all official communication on the pilgrimage, authorizing only Divisional Commissioners and Inspectors General of Police of Jammu and Kashmir divisions to brief the media, a move aimed at preventing misinformation.
The annual pilgrimage will end on August 28, coinciding with Raksha Bandhan.
