Srinagar, Jul 2: In a milestone marking the commencement of the annual Amarnath Yatra, the first batch of about 12,000 yatris reached Kashmir on Thursday and was greeted with warmth and robust security arrangements.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first convoy early Thursday morning from the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu.
The yatris crossed the Jawahar Tunnel (Navyug Tunnel) and arrived at Qazigund in south Kashmir by around noon.
Senior security and civil officials, including the Deputy Inspector General of Police, South Kashmir; DIG CRPF; SSP Kulgam, and others, welcomed them at the transit point.
A good number of yatris arrived by air as well as through rail from different parts of the country.
Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, V K Birdi, who has been authorised to speak to media about the yatra told Greater Kashmir that over 12,000 yatris had reached the Valley.
“Over 4000 yatris will leave for darshan on Friday at 4 am. All arrangements, including security, are in place. There won’t be any inconvenience to the yatris,” he said.
The first batch of over 4000 yatris, included about 900 women.
Of these, 2500 yatris will proceed via the traditional Pahalgam-Chandanwari route, while the remaining will take the shorter Sonamarg-Baltal route.
From Qazigund, they moved towards the base camps at Nunwan in Pahalgam and Baltal.
The onward journey to the Amarnath Cave shrine begins Friday morning.
The Pahalgam route involves a challenging three-day trek on foot, palanquin, or pony, while the Baltal route is a shorter 14-km trek allowing the same-day return.
For the second consecutive year, the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) has suspended helicopter services, with both routes declared “no-fly zones” as a key security measure.
The yatra will officially commence on Friday and conclude on August 28, spanning 57 days.
This year’s Amarnath Yatra features the largest annual security exercise in Jammu and Kashmir, with a comprehensive multi-layered apparatus designed to ensure the safe passage of over 3.5 lakh registered yatris.
Key elements include Project Hawk Eye by Police in Anantnag, advanced drone surveillance, Machan Morchas, sniper teams, over 416 CCTV cameras with facial recognition systems (FRS), real-time monitoring, no-fly zones, watch towers, electronic surveillance along the routes, tamper-proof QR code-based identity cards for service providers, including pony operators, RFID tags for vehicles, yatris, and service providers for real-time convoy tracking, deployment of around 700 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), alongside Army, and J&K Police units, including first-time ridge deployments by the VIKAS Unit (SFF) on the Pahalgam axis, enhanced sanitisation, anti-drone measures, bomb disposal squads, medical facilities, and community support initiatives.
These measures were strengthened in response to last year’s terror incident in Baisaran Valley in Pahalgam.
Officials emphasised that the focus remains on zero inconvenience to devotees while maintaining the highest standards of safety.
The administration has also made robust arrangements for stay, langars, medical aid, and infrastructure upgrades along the routes.
As the sacred pilgrimage unfolds, the emphasis on collaborative security, development, and seamless conduct underscores the commitment to a peaceful and spiritually fulfilling experience for all devotees in the region.