The first convoy of 231 vehicles carrying 4,603 pilgrims heading for the cave shrine of Amarnath in the Kashmir Valley was on Friday flagged off from here by Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha.
The heavily guarded convoy set off on the journey to its sacred destination amid chants of Vedic Mantras from Bhagwati Nagar base camp here.
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The 300-kilometre-long Jammu-Srinagar highway was thoroughly sanitised early in the morning by Army and CRPF personnel before the pilgrims embarked on their journey to the holy shrine in the mountains.
The trek to the 3,880-meter-high shrine will begin from the two base camps, Baltal and Pahalgam, in the Valley. The 52-day-long yatra will culminate on 19 August.
While flagging off the yatra, the lieutenant governor extended his best wishes to all the pilgrims and wished them a safe, blessed, and spiritually enriching journey. “May the blessings of Baba Amarnath Ji bring peace, happiness, and prosperity to everyone’s life,” he said.
Prominent spiritual leaders; heads of religious organisations; public representatives; senior officers of Civil Administration, Police, Security Forces and Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board, prominent citizens, and devotees in large number were present on the occasion.
Authorities have imposed traffic restrictions on various routes from today to 19 August, with daily advisories issued to minimise inconvenience, the police said.
According to reports, more than 3.50 lakh people have registered for this year’s yatra. As many as 125 community kitchens (langars) have been set up along the two routes to the cave shrine and are supported by over 6,000 volunteers. Besides, several langars have been established on the highway from Pathankot (Punjab)-Jammu and Srinagar by various social and religious organisations.
