Amarnath Yatra 2024: Over 13,000 Pilgrims Visit Holy Cave on First Day

Srinagar: On the first day of the annual pilgrimage of Amarnath over 13,000 pilgrims visited the holy cave shrine on Saturday, June 29, amid tight security.

"As many as 13,736 pilgrims visited the cave shrine to have darshan of the naturally formed ice lingam on the first day," an official said.

The first batch of the pilgrims left the twin base camps in Baltal and Nunwan to begin their journey to the holy cave located at an altitude of 3,880 metres.

Among these 13,000 pilgrims, 3,300 were females, 52 children, 102 sadhus, and 682 security personnel visited the shrine from the two routes after Lt Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch of 4,603 pilgrims from the Yatri Niwas base camp from Jammu's Bhagwati Nagar on Friday, June 28.

The Yatra started early morning on Saturday from the twin tracks -- the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag and the 14-km shorter but steeper Baltal route in Ganderbal.

The authorities made stringent security arrangements for the smooth conduct of the Yatra.

For this, thousands of security personnel from the police, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and other paramilitary forces have been deployed along the route. Aerial surveillance is also being carried out.

Additionally, a central public sector undertaking ONGC has set up two 100-bed hospitals at the twin Amarnath base camps in Kashmir and announced that such facilities would continue to operate after the annual yatra.

The 52-day pilgrimage will conclude on August 19.

As the yatra began on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted pilgrims of the Amarnath Yatra, saying the “darshan'” of Lord Shiva is known to infuse immense energy in his followers.

"My heartfelt best wishes to all pilgrims on the commencement of the holy Amarnath Yatra. This Yatra associated with the darshan of Baba Barfani infuses immense energy in the devotees of Lord Shiva. May all devotees prosper with his blessings. Jai Baba Barfani,” the prime minister's post read.

Following this, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also asserted that the PM Modi-led government is committed to ‘ensuring a safe, smooth and pleasant pilgrimage to the cave shrine.’

"Shri Amarnath Yatra is an eternal symbol of the traditionalism and continuity of Indian culture. This divine Yatra is starting today. I wish all the devotees good luck for the darshan," Shah wrote on ‘X’.

"Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji, our government is committed to the safe, smooth and pleasant journey of the devotees and the government has made every possible arrangement to ensure that the devotees do not face any inconvenience. Har Har Mahadev," the post added.

More than 4.5 lakh pilgrims paid obeisance at the cave shrine last year. 

(Inputs from PTI)