Yatris receive warm welcome at Baltal base camp

Ganderbal, Jul 2: With the annual Amarnath Yatra 2026 to commence officially on Friday, hundreds of vehicles carrying yatris reached here at the yatra base camp at Baltal in Ganderbal district. At Baltal base camp, it was accorded warm welcome by the district civil and police administration besides locals. The first batch of yatris left the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu on Thursday morning. Using various modes of transport, the yatris from different parts of the country amid heightened security arrangements started reaching the base camps Thursday evening. On the occasion, Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Transport, Information Technology, Youth Services and Sports, Satish Sharma; DIG Maqsood Ul Zaman, DC Ganderbal Jatin Kishore, and SSP Ganderbal Sudhanshu Dhama welcomed the yatris, interacted with them, and conveyed their best wishes for a safe, peaceful, and spiritually enriching yatra. They assured the devotees that elaborate security, traffic management, and public facilitation arrangements had been put in place by Police in Ganderbal in close coordination with the civil administration, CAPFs, Health Department, and other stakeholder agencies. Dedicated helping hand teams, assistance booths, and round-the-clock deployment of police personnel have been established to provide guidance, emergency assistance, and ensure the smooth movement of yatris along the yatra route. During interaction, the officers urged the yatris to follow the advisory issued by the authorities and cooperate with security personnel. A senior official said that the first batch of pilgrims will start trekking up the 14-km-long treacherous mountain trail from Baltal early Friday to reach the Amarnath cave shrine for darshan. Special prayers are being organised by the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) to mark the beginning of this year's yatra at Amarnath Cave shrine on Friday morning. Officials said that adequate arrangements including security, health, sanitation, and water supply have been made to ensure smooth conduct of the yatra.