Jammu, Jul 1: Offline registration for the annual Amarnath Yatra began on Wednesday, with hundreds of pilgrims thronging designated registration centres in Jammu ahead of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagging off the first batch of devotees from the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas base camp on Thursday.
The 57-day pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high Amarnath cave shrine will commence on July 3 via the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the shorter 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district. Around four lakh devotees have already registered online for the pilgrimage.
Despite overnight rainfall, pilgrims queued up outside registration centres from the early hours to obtain passes. On-the-spot registration for token holders started on Wednesday, while token distribution continued for the second consecutive day at counters set up along the Tawi riverfront near the artificial lake, Geeta Bhawan, Ram Mandir and Bhagwati Nagar.
The first batch of pilgrims will be flagged off from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp early Thursday.
Among the devotees was Uttar Pradesh resident Sandhu Ram Kishan, whose Rudraksha-adorned attire decorated with coins from different countries attracted attention. A regular pilgrim since 2006, he said his appearance symbolised his devotion to Lord Shiva and reflected the spiritual strength he draws from the pilgrimage.
Registration centres echoed with chants of “Har Har Mahadev” and “Bam Bam Bhole” as devotees waited for their turn.
Anushka, who arrived with her six-member family from Pune, said she was fulfilling a long-cherished wish inspired by her father, who has undertaken the pilgrimage annually for the past decade.
Neelu Sangani from Rajasthan, accompanied by her parents, expressed satisfaction at getting the opportunity to visit the shrine, while her father praised the arrangements made by the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board and the administration.
However, Jitendra Giri from Uttar Pradesh urged authorities to improve crowd management, saying long queues and barbed-wire barricades caused inconvenience, particularly to elderly pilgrims.
Senior civil and police officers, including Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar, Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Minhas and SSP Joginder Singh, visited the registration centres to review arrangements, interact with pilgrims and ensure smooth registration, orderly token distribution and adequate public facilities.
Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department said Jammu received 35.8 mm of rainfall during the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Wednesday, bringing the minimum temperature down to 23.3 degrees Celsius, 2.7 degrees below the seasonal average. (Agencies)
